How Stereotypes Impact Women in Physics

Abstract

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] Sexism occurs when men are believed to be superior to women, and is thought to be one of the reasons for women's underrepresentation in physics and astronomy. The issue of sexism in physics and astronomy has not been thoroughly explored in the physics education literature and there is currently no clear language for discussing sexism in the field. This article seeks to begin a conversation on sexism in physics and astronomy and offer a starting point for language to discuss sexism in research groups and departments. Interviews with 21 women in graduate physics and astronomy programs are analyzed for their individual experiences of sexism. Although a subset of women did not report experiencing sexual discrimination, the majority experienced subtle insults and slights known as microaggressions. Other participants also experienced more traditional hostile sexism in the form of sexual harassment, gender role stereotypes, and overt discouragement. These results indicate the existence of sexism in the current culture of physics and astronomy, as well as the importance departments must put on eliminating it and educating students about sexism and microaggressions.

Should I Stay or Should I go?: Women’s Implicit Stereotypic Associations Predict their Commitment and Fit in STEM

“…Prior research suggests that a lack of belonging, or fit, plays a key role in explaining why women avoid pursuing or consider leaving certain STEM fields, including engineering (Cheryan, Ziegler, Montoya, & Jiang, 2016). Feelings of belonging are informed by the gendered nature of the environment (Cheryan, Plaut, Davies, & Steele, 2009;Dasgupta, 2016). Thus, if some women have more strongly encoded an Engineering=Male association, we reasoned that this implicit stereotypic association might prevent them from feeling fully committed to their engineering company.…”

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

“…Prior research suggests that a lack of belonging, or fit, plays a key role in explaining why women avoid pursuing or consider leaving certain STEM fields, including engineering (Cheryan, Ziegler, Montoya, & Jiang, 2017). Feelings of belonging are informed by the gendered nature of the environment (Cheryan, Plaut, Davies, & Steele, 2009; Dasgupta, 2016). Thus, if some women have more strongly encoded an Engineering = Male association, we reasoned that this implicit stereotypic association might prevent them from feeling fully committed to their engineering company.…”

The physics classroom as a space for empowerment

“…Students who survived this apprenticeship were accepted into a community of physicists, while those who did not were perceived as lacking the necessary aptitude, fortitude, or disposition to become a physicist. These sorting mechanisms have positioned physics as an elite discipline that only a select group of individuals have the capacity to do [11][12][13].…”