In 1935, the Hayden planetarium employed more women than any of the other three planetariums across the country. The department of the Hayden planetarium was committed, at the time, to an equal employment policy, at least regarding those workers being trained to curate the Hayden planetarium. After the end of World War II however, men returned home expecting their old jobs–– now taken over by women–– to be waiting for them. The commitment to equal employment of years prior ended. All assistant curatorial and curatorial positions were cut, Marian Lockwood was relegated to a lecturer position. Marian Lockwood turned in her resignation letter in 1946. Before leaving, she hired Catherine E. Barry, who stayed at AMNH through the the directorships of both Gordon A. Atwater (1945-51) and Robert Coles (1951-53), and attained a position as co-chair of the Planetarium after Coles left.
Since Marian Lockwood left her job in the Hayden Planetarium, much has changed. The old zeiss projector that used copper foil slides with tiny holes punched in them to let light through to create star projections, has been replaced by a 10-bit color video projector.
20% of bachelor’s degrees in physics were awarded to women in 2016, up from just 8% in 1976, and about 18% of all PHDs in physics going to women in 2016, up from just over 4% in 1976. 25% of physics professors in PHD-granting departments are women. Marian Lockwood helped set a precedent for women teaching astronomy by giving public lectures at the Museum nearly 90 years ago. The Amateur Astronomer’s Association still exists, and holds monthly lectures at AMNH.