physics report
1
Underrepresentation of Women in the U.S. Physics
Secondary and Post -Secondary Classroom
Angela Burke
Texas A&M Commerce
PHYS 595 – Research Literature
Sum mer I 2016
Abstract . The ge nder gap is a systemic and cyclical issue in the United States, partic ularly as it
pertains to women in physical science . The number of physics degrees being awarded to women
is disproportiona tely low for science , even considering th e gender gap. Within that g ender gap is
a further achievement gap for minorit y women wh o are underrepresented drast ically in the
physics classroom and in phys ics careers. This paper will examine the causes of and potential
solutions to the gen der gap in physics classes, both at the seco ndary and post -secondary level.
The main tren ds discovered include underq ualified physics tea chers at the high school level, low -
socioec onomic schools offering fewer and less -ad vanced physics classes , and subtle negative
messa ging ab out w omen in science through the media and in schools. Sol utions include creating
a network of mentors and mentees in high school and at the university level , offering more
opportunities to take physics , and encouraging positive and strong role models for young women
in the field of physics. Closing these g aps is important for the future economic securit y of the
United States.
Diversity in the workplace has been shown to increase productivity and provide valuable
insights from different pers pectives. 1 Unfortunately women, particularly women of color, are
being left out of physics classrooms and research labs across the United States. In fact, this year
marks the first year that a university in the US graduated more female engine ering studen ts than
male student .2 This milestone shows that progress is being made, but much more work needs to
be done, particularly in physics. While a dramatic gap appears between male and female
enrollment in many STEM fields, one of the biggest gender gaps exi sts specifically in physics .
1 B. Nelson, “The Data on Diversity”. Comm. Of The ACM, 57 (11), 86 -95 (2014). 2 F. Macdonald, “For the first time, a US college had more female engineering graduates than men,” Science
Alert , 24 Jun 2016, http://www.sciencealert.com/for -the -first -time -a-us-college -just -graduated -more -women -
in-engineering -than -men (26 Jun 2016). 2
Even though more than half of bachelor’s degrees in science are awarded to women, only 21% of
bachelor’s degrees in physics were awarded to women in 2009, and the statistics remain about as
bleak today. 3
Physics, more than an y other science, applies math, critical thinking, and analytical
reasoning skills to real -world situations which are necessary skills for students to compete in a
competitive global economy. The National Academy of Science describes in a 2007 report that
the U.S. needs to “enhance the science and technology enterprise so that the United States can
successfully compete, prosper, and be secure in the global community of the 21st century .”4
Bridging the gender gap is not only ethically necessary, it is one w ay to make the U.S. stand out
in the world once more. This paper will compile the research done about potential reasons for the
underrepresentation of women and minority women in physics a s well as examine suggested
solutions to increasing gender and raci al diversity among physics students.
GLOBAL COMPARISONS
In the 2015 Global Gender Gap Report, the United States was ranked 28 out of 145
countries in an overall comparison of gender equality in the economy, politics, education, and
health & survival. 5 Thi s is down from just five years prior, when in 2010 the U.S. ranked 19 out
of 134 countries. Interestingly, the educational gender gap (or lack thereof) put the U.S. at the #1
spot for educational equity from 2008 to 2013, until the U.S. took a nosedive to 39 th and 40 th place
3 L. Kost -Smith, S. Pollock and N. Finkelstein, Gender disparities in second -semes ter college physics: The
incremental effects of a smog of bias, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 6 (020112 ), 1 -3 (2010). 4 National Academies of Science, Rising Above the Gatherings Storm: Energizing and Employing America for
a Brighter Economic Future, (Wa shington, D.C., 2007), pp. 109. 5 World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 (Geneva, Switzerland, 2015), pp. 306 -307. 3
in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Curiously, although the U.S. was ranked well among other
countries with respect to educational equity, the number of women in physics still remains low. 6
Numerous studies cite the disparity between me n and women in physics, both at an educational
level and in careers .7 In fact, a 2013 Global Survey of Physicists found that women across the
world have “fewer resources and opportunities and are more affected by cultural expectations ”.8
This indicates t hat the gender gap prevails globally , however this paper focuses specifically on the
United States.
C A USES OF UNDERREPRESE NTATION
Socioeconomic Factors & Race . One study carried out at the University of Colorado from fall
2004 to spring 2009 records enrol lment in an introductory el ectricity and magnetism course . See
Table 1 for a breakdown of the student population enrolled in that course over the given timeframe,
and what seems to stand out is the disparity between the different recorded races, with a fu ll 81.4%
of enrolled students as white, but only 8% enrolled students identified as African American,
Hispanic, or Native American combined .3 Interestingly, the gender gap is only observed among
white students in this case. Slightly more females than mal es enrolled identified as African
American, Asian, and Foreign, as well as equal amounts of males and females enrolled who
identified as Native American and Hispanic. However, the gender and racial gap is clear: female
underrepresented minorities only acc ount for 2% of the program.
6 L. Kost -Smith, S. Pollock and N. Finkelstein, Characterizing the gender gap in introductory physics, Phys.
Rev. ST Phys. E duc. Res., 5, 010101 (2009). 7 K. Niss, B. Nordtrom, I. Bearden and M. Grage, Gender in physics in Denmark, AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 94 -95
(2013); M. Remskar et al., Women in physics in Slovenia, AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 148 -149 (2013); J. Arenzon,
P. Duarte, S. Calvalcanti and M. Barbosa, Women and physics in Brazil: publications, citations and H index,
AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 78 -79 (2013); K. El -Sayed, H. Hosny and S. Helmy, Women in physics in Egypt:
challenges and progress, AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 98 -99 (2013) . 8 R. Ivie, C. Tesfaye, R. Czujko and R. Chu, The Global Survey of Physicists: A collaborative effort
illuminates the situation of women in physics, AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 53 (2013). 4
This highlights a much bigger issue because the population of non -Asian racial minorities
in the US in 2009 was estimated to be about 30.2%, and approximately 15% of the 2009 population
were women of color, 9 a ratio clearly not present in this program.
TABLE 1. University of Colorado enrollment in second semester introductory physics from Fall 2004 to
Sp ring 2009 3
While this is merely one university study, the research can be used as a snapshot of college
demographics across the U.S. (Note: Asian populations are not taken into account as an
underrepresented minority.)
According to the Physics Teacher Education Coalition at Cornell University, “women are
underrepresented by a factor of 2” while “African Americans and Latinos a re underrepresented by
a factor of 4 or more ”.10 Intersecting both of these identities can lead to some dynamic internal
9 United States Census Bureau, “Vintage 2009: National Tables,” Census.gov , 1 Jul 2009,
https://www.census.gov/popest/data/historical/2000s/vintage_2009 / (17 Jun 2016). 10 Cornell University, “The Crisis in Physics Education,” Cornell University Physics Teacher Education
Coalition , 2011, https://phystec.physics.cornell.edu/content/ crisis -physics -education (18 Jun 2016). 5
conflicts because of the (mostly negative) messages that underrepresented minorities have been
given throughout the “ educational pipeli ne” 11. This conflict is known as the double bind effect , as
minority women experience both racism and sexism at a personal and systemic level, hindering
their path to the STEM career of choice. More will be discussed abou t these negative messages
later .
A gender gap in achievement has been known to persist well into university level courses,
however the gap in achievement can be attributed to physics and math preparedness coming into
post -secondary physics courses and the attitudes and beliefs of incoming students .12 While some
of the preparedness (or lack thereof) can be attributed to teacher unpreparedness (see the next
section), the picture becomes clear when examining math and science courses offered at lower vs.
higher socioeconomic secondary schools.
The American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Center looked at the number of
students enrolled in physics classes by socioeconomic status and difficulty of class for U.S. public
high schools for the 2012 -2013 school year and found that not only ar e “better off” schools
enrolling more students in physics, these types of schools are enrolling students in more advanced
physics classes, as compared to their “worse off” peers 13 (see Figure 1) .
The results of t his d isparity can be seen in Figures 2 & 3. The disproportion between
students attending better off vs. worse off schools in underrepresented minorities is obvious .
While the percentage of Black and Hispanic students enrolled in a physics class is increasing, a
clear gap persists between these un derrepresented minorities and their fellow non -minority
11 L. Charleston, R. Adserias, N. Lang and J. Jackson, Intersectionality and STEM: the role of race and gender
in the academic pursuits of African American women in STEM, J. Prog. Policy Prac. 2 (3), 275 -282 (2014). 12 L. Kost, S. Pollock and N. Finkelstein, The persistence of the gender gap in introductory physics, AIP Conf.
Proc. 1064 , 139 (2008). 13 S. White, And the survey says…High school physics enrollments by socioeconomic status and type of class,
Phys. Teach. 54 , 17 (2016) 6
students. While the reason underrepresented minorities are often found in lower socioeconomic
areas could fill libraries, it is sufficient here to note that there is a correlation.
FIGURE 1. Numbe r of
students enrolled in
physics classes by type of
class and socioeconomic
status in U.S. public high
schools 13
FIGURE 2.
Percent of
student by race
or ethnicity and
socioeconomic
profile of the
school for U.S.
public high
schools 14
14 S. White, Socioeconomic factors affecting minority physics taking in U.S. high schools, Phys. Teach. 49 ,
472 (2011) 7
FIGURE 3. Proport ion of students in each racial or ethnic group taking physics in U.S. high schools 15
Teacher Qualifications in Secondary Schools . While the availability of course offerings might
be a contributing factor to the underrepresentation of women and minority wom en enrolled in
secondary and post -secondary physics classes, perhaps even more jarring is the lack of
qualification of some teachers in secondary physics and physical science classes. US News cited
a 2008 study by the National Center for Education Statist ics (NCES) which shows that “fewer than
half of chemistry and physics teachers majored in those subjects” as compared to English, art, and
music teachers who hold degrees in their subject 82%, 90% and 95% of the time, respectively. 16
The article continues to explain that a 2007 report by the National Academies exposes the lack of
qualifications at the middle school level: only about 10% of middle school physical science
teachers hold a degree in their field or are even certified to teach their subject. Tom Luce, CEO
15 S. White, Black and Hispanic participation in high school physics still low, Phys. Teach. 49 , 356 (2011) 16 J. Koebler, “Many STEM Teachers Don’t Hold Certifications,” US News , 8 Jun 2011,
http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high -school -notes/2011/06/08/many -stem -teachers -dont -hold -
certifications (17 Jun 2016). 8
of the National Math and Science Initiative sums up the significance of this finding, “That's when
you lose a kid's interest. They don't even want to try in h igh school because they think, ‘ I didn 't
like this in middle school.’” While both of these studies were conducted over a decade ago, these
results do not show an improvement over the previou s decade in teacher preparation, and have
only minimally improved in the years since.
The NCES revealed in a 2003 report that in the 1999 -2000 school y ear, a whopping 93%
of middle school physical science teachers held no major or certification in their subject and it
only drops to 63% for high school teachers .17 Physics was the science with the highest number of
unqualified teachers at 67% with no major or certification in their field. Fast -forward to the 2015
study by the NCES and the same rings true for the 2011 -2012 year: only 7.1% of middle school
physical science teachers held a degree in their subject area and were certified to teach physical
scie nce .18 At least by 2011 -2012 the percent of teachers who were unqualified (no major or
certification) dropped from 67% to 63% from the previous decade ,19 but the numbers are still
nothing of which to be proud .
A strong correlation seems to be forming betw een unqualified teachers and a lack of
students enrolling in post -secondary physics courses . The lack of qualified teachers at the high
school level leads to students who may be “science -capable” but not confident in their ability 10 to
pursu e physics at t he college level . Indeed, students who came from an underwhelming high
school physics program tend to struggle more at the college level, particularly women. 3 More
17 National Academies of Science, Rising Above the Gatherings Stor m: Energizing and Employing America for
a Brighter Economic Future, (Washington, D.C., 2007), pp. 114. 18 S. Baldi, C. Warner -Griffin and C. Tadler , Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized
Public Middle Grades Teachers of Selected Sub jects: Evidence from the 2011 -12 Schools and Staffing Survey ,
National Center for Educational Statistics, (Alexandria, VA, 2015), pp. 29. 19 J. Hill and C. Stearns, Education and Certification Qualifications of Departmentalized Public High School -
Level Teac hers of Selected Subjects: Evidence from the 2011 -12 Schools and Staffing Survey , National Center
for Educational Statistics, (Alexandria, VA, 2015), pp. 29. 9
research needs to be done examining the strength of the correlation between students who a re
successful in post -secondary courses and whether they had a qualified physics teacher or not.
Unintended Messages about Math and Science . Oftentimes, rhetoric that attempts to sound
understanding ends up unintentionally displaying sexist and racist messa ges. 20 One instance is the
late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia verbalizing the mismatch theory (the
idea that disadvantaged students should have lower expectations) in December 2015 when he said,
“There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get them into the
University of Texas, where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less advanced
school … a slower -track school where they do well.” 21
Ask any woman and she will probably be able to give an example of when someone told
her she could not achieve a goal simply because she was a woman. One example is when professor
and self -proclaimed physicist Eileen Poll ack tried to take physics and calculus in high school, and
she was simply not allowed because she was told by her principal that “girls never go in science
and math.” 22 M. Bordanaro et al. conducted a survey as referenced by G. May and D. Chubin
(2003) which noted that almost 70% of American adults claim to be interested in technology and
science. 23 However, this has not seemed to permeate into the media, as Poll ack goes on to explain.
Even one of the most popular television shows on primetime, The Big Bang Theory , portrays
scientists poorly. The characters are mostly white (with the excep tion of K oothrappali who is an
Indian male , but who does not escape negative racial comments on the show), and the two female
20 A. Johnson, Unintended consequences: how science professors discourage women of color, Sci. Ed. 91 , 805
- 821 (2007 ). 21 D. MacIsaac, U.S. Supreme Court justices weigh in (ham -handedly) on race and equity in physics learning,
Phys. Teach. 54 , 126 (2016). 22 E. Pollack, “Why are there still so few women in science?”, The New York Times Magazine, 3 Oct 2 013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why -are -there -still -so-few -women -in-science.html?_r=1 (17
Jun 2016) 23 G. May and D. Chubin, A Retrospective on Undergraduate Engineering Success for Underrepresented
Minority Students, J. Eng. Educ., 92 (1), 27 (2003). 10
scientists are also subjected to stereotyping. For example, Penny is pretty but not -so -brainy, and
the character Amy is socially awkward and dresses frumpily but, hey, she has her PhD!
Because success in physics is often intrinsically tied to success in math, one of the possible
reasons for the gender gap in phy sics is because math is “uncool.” 24 One study by the American
Mathematic al Society concluded that the gender gap in mathematics “is not due to a lack of girls
with profound intrinsic aptitude for mathematics; rather, it is due to their choosing to spend their
free time on nonmathematical pursuits” because of the cultural impli cation that math is for “nerds ”.
This often alienates females who are naturally gifted in math because of the fear of having a lower
social status.
W ithin the realm of middle - and high -school physics, implicit biases sneak into the
curriculum. As one p hysics teacher explains, when teachers discuss topics scientists responsible
for those discoveries are also d iscussed. “The downside to this is that, whether we realize it or
not, most of us implicitly communicate to students that scientists come from one demographic
group — white male Europeans — and, crucially, not from others. Our students internalize that
lesson .”25 Perhaps these unintended micro -messages add up in a short period of time, because one
study shows that by the time students are in sixth grade , a gender gap in physical science already
exists .26 Ultimately, the more a girl believes the stereotype that “women are less apt at physics
than men”, the less her sense of belonging in physics .27 Simply acknowledging the fact that
24 T. Andreescu, J. Gallian, J. Kane and J. Mertz, Cross -cultural analysis of students with exceptional talent in
mathematical problem solving, Not. AMS, 55 (10), 1256 (2008). 25 M. Rifkin, Addressing underrepresentation: physics teaching for all, Phys. Teach. 54 , 72 (2016). 26 Z. Hazari, P. Sadler and G. Sonnert, The science identity of college students: exploring the intersection of
gender, race, and ethnicity, J. College Sci. Teach. 42 (5), 83 (2013). 27 U. Kessels, A. Heyder, M. Latsch and B. Han nover, How gender differences in academic engagement relate
to students’ gender identity, Ed. Res. 56 (2), 220 -229 (2014); J. Stout, T. Ito, N. Finkelstein and S. Pollock,
How a gender gap in belonging contributes to the gender gap in physics participation , AIP C onf. Proc. 1513,
404 -405 (2013). 11
implicit bias exists ab out women and minorities in physics can actually reduce the effects of
negative micro -messages .25
Further research should be conducted to examine minority women specifically and how
the double bind effect might affect their perception of belonging in phys ics -related careers.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Recruitment & Retention in the Secondary Level . “Most leakage from the STEM career
‘pipeline’ occurs in high school and in the transition from high school to college” 10 which is why
recruiting young scientific minds is so important at the middle school and high school level.
Unfortunately, effectively engaging young women in physics is significantly more challenging due
to the drastically low number of teachers who are qualified to teach physics . One of the first st eps
that can be made to close the gender gap is to train and educate science teachers specifically in the
area of physics. Pedagogical skills are also important in maintaining engagement, as not everyone
learns the same way. Lecturing in the science clas s is no longer considered a best practice in any
science class 28, but specifically in the physics classroom evidence suggests that one way to close
the gender gap is to allow more “active engagement” and structured discussions so that female
students can pr ocess their thoughts more effectively .29 Providing real -world applications is not
only an effective teaching strategy for high school students ,28 but it can also be useful in retention
of women in physics classes at the university level .2
Beyond the classr oom, extra -curricular opportunities such as conferences and summer
camps are important in encouraging young girls to pursue physics and other sciences .30
28 D. Baker, What works: using curriculum and pedagogy to increase girls’ interest and participation in
science, Theory Pract. 52 , 1 4-20 (2013). 29 M. Lorenzo, Reducing the gender gap in the physics classroom, Am. J. P hys. 74 , 118 (2006) 30 C. Spencer, Expanding girls’ horizons in physics and other sciences: a successful strategy since 1976, AIP
Conf. Proc. 1697 , 120015 (2015). 12
Mentorship and social networking opportunities for young girls in middle and high school would
appear to be helpful in the retention of girls in STEM classes, but more research needs to be done
on the effectiveness of such programs .31 Mentors can also be parents, so by educating parents
about the benefits of enrolling in physics and other STEM classes, par ents can better inform their
children of their options. Indeed, a female student’s achievement in math was higher on average
if the girl’s mother positively viewed her child’s math abilities .32
Recruitment & Retention at the Post -Secondary Level . While many of the issues in retaining
females in science, particularly physics, can begin to be solved at the middle school and high
school level, the efforts to maintain a strong female and minority population in physics programs
must continue into post -secondary level . Because underrepresented minorities are often in a lower
socioeconomic bracket (and the gender -based wage gap has been widely documented 33), providing
financial aid for college programs is not only intuitive, but it has shown to be effective in helpi ng
to increase minority participation in STEM programs .23, 34 It should be noted , however, that loans
are not as effective as grants and scholarships as a recruitment tool.
Once the student body population of females and women of color has increased at t he post -
secondary level, more issues need to be tackled. A recent study of African American (or otherwise
identified as Black) women between the ages of 18 -35 years old enrolled fu ll-time in college
exposed the factors which caused a s tudent to consider w ithdrawing from the STEM program.
These reasons included the consistent feeling of isolation compounded with seemingly little
31 S. Klein -Gardner, STEM summer institute increases student and parent understanding of engine ering, ASEE
Annual Conf. Exp., Paper ID #8493 (2014). 32 C. Leaper, T. Farkas and C. Brown, Adolescent girls’ experiences and gender -related beliefs in relation to
the motivation in math/science and English, J. Youth Adol. 42 , 268 -282 (2012). 33 N. Caley, “W omen and the Persisting Pay Gap,” ColoradoBiz , 43 (4) 50 -55 (2016). 34 J. Tanaka and L. Gladney, Strategies for recruiting and retaining minorities in physics and biophysics,
Biophys. J. 65 , 552 -558 (1993). 13
support from faculty .11 Clearly programs and departments promoting multiculturalism at the
university level need to not only be present but be advertised and easily accessible. Said programs
must also address the specific needs of the constituents, perhaps by being available in each
discipline so students can feel connected with others leading to self -empowerment. Creating a
netw ork of support (see Figure 4) is an important solution to what is known as the “leaky
pipeline .”35
Yet another possible solution for retaining females at the post -secondary level i s to take
into consideration the societal construct of parenting being the mother’s job and to anticipate that
constraint as a possible reason why women wi thdraw from university programs .8, 11 , 36 Offering
childcare at the university level could alleviate some home life/work life strain allowing women
to choose both career and family .
FIGURE4. “Students create the weft of an inclusive female -friendly department culture ”35
The Impact of Positive Role Models . The graduating class of Dartmouth produced more females
than males in their engineering program, the first universit y in the U.S. known to have
35 B. Whitten, S. Foster and M. Duncombe, What work s for women in undergraduate physics?, Phys. Today.
56 (9), 48 -49 (2003). 36 L. Ko, R. Kachchaf, M. Ong and A. Hodari , Narratives of the double bind: intersectionality in life stories of
women of color in physics, astrophysics and astronomy, AIP Conf. P roc . 1513 (1) 222 -225 (2013). 14
accompli shed such an achievement. The Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth
Joseph Helble explains that the change in enrollment the program came after “purposefully hiring
female role models in engineering” 2 and structuring the courses that femal e students do not feel so
isolated. Helble says the school changed the program structure based off research that students
who perceive themselves to be in the minority can become easily discouraged to continue
participation in science and math programs .23
A sense of isolation by women in science fields, particularly male -dominated physics,
could be curbed by introducing mentor programs. 37 These mentor programs could be beneficial
not only for the mentee but also the mentor. One study stemming from a Natio nal Science
Foundation project discovered that participants, who are minority women in physics, astrophysics
and astronomy, found a sense of belonging in being activists for increased diversity in STEM
fields. The women “expressed the importance of seeing more scientists with a racial background
similar to their own, and worked towards this ideal to encourage, and to improve conditions for,
future generations .”36
One way that strong female role models in physics education can improve is simply within
the d emographics of most physics departments. The American Institute of Physics tracked the
number of women in physics and astronomy departments across the U.S. from 2008 to 2012 and
the results were astonishing (see Figure 5). Women only make up about 12% of the faculty in
astronomy and physics departments, but t here are only 73 non -Asian women of color employed as
a faculty member in physics or astronomy departments in t he entire United States. 38 Without
tangible results of women and minority women succeedin g in academia, girls in middle and high
37 A. Borg and M. Sui, Attracting girls to physics, AIP Conf. P roc . 151 7 (1) 35 -37 (2013). 38 R. Ivie, G. Anderson and S. White, “ African Americans & Hispanics among Physics & Astronomy Faculty:
Results from the 2012 Survey of Physi cs & Astronomy Degree -Granting Departments. Focus On ,” Statistical
Research Center of the American Institute of Physics , 1 Jul 2014. 15
school may find little inspira tion in the lack of role models and may turn to other subjects where
women are more accepted.
One of the perhaps most obvious but rather vague solutions to the gender gap is to develop
social and cultural norms in schools and in the media which present physics learning as attainable
by males and females equally. 3 Classroom support can go a long way in encouraging students to
pursue physics in college and as a career.
FIGURE 5. Numb er of women in physics and astronomy departments by highest degree awarded, in
2012 38
CONCLUSION
Unfortunately, many of the contributing factors to why females, specifically women of
color, are consistently left out of physics programs in secondary and po st-secondary levels seem
to be part of a cyclical and systemic problem. Because there are so few women and minority 16
women in physics, others are dissuaded to join the profession. The disproportion of women and
women of color in science fields, specifical ly physical sciences, as compared to the rest of the
working force leaves much untapped potential waiting to help the U.S. compete in an increasingly
multicultura l global economy.
Lack of teacher qualifications, lack of educational opportunities at a mid dle and high
school level, and lack of support in the post -secondary level as well as in mainstream media are
all contributing factors to why the U.S. has so few women and women of color enrolling in (or
remaining enrolled in) physics classes. In order to access the vast reservoir of potential that is the
diverse population of women interested in but not yet pursuing science, certain steps must be taken.
Qualified teachers at the secondary level need to be recruited to start students’ interest in physics
earlier, and more physics classes should be available to all socioeconomic levels. Simply making
physics more available is not sufficient enough to engage young learners. S upportive programs at
the university level should be developed which address the u nique needs of women in a male -
dominated field, and positive role models and mentorships should be developed at all educational
levels. Many questions remain, and t hese are but a few spokes of the wheel, but these cornerstones
can perhaps allow the U.S. t o close the gender ga p allowing more women to make a mark on the
field of physics.
17
REFERENCES
1. B. Nelson, “The Data on Diversity”. Comm. Of The ACM, 57 (11), 86 -95 (2014).
2. F. Macdonald, “For the first time, a US college had more female engineering graduates than
men,” Science Alert , 24 Jun 2016, http://www.sciencealert.com/for -the -first -time -a-us -college -
just -graduated -more -women -in-engineering -than -men (26 Jun 2016).
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physics: The incremental effects of a smog of bias, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 6 (020112 ),
1-3 (2010).
4. National Academies of Science, Rising Above the Gatherings Storm: Energizing and
Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future, (Wa shington, D.C., 2007), pp. 109.
5. World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 (Geneva, Switzerland,
2015), pp. 306 -307.
6. L. Kost -Smith, S. Pollock and N. Finkelstein, Characterizing the gender gap in introductory
physics, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. E duc. Res., 5, 010101 (2009).
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Proc. 1517 , 94 -95 (2013); M. Remskar et al., Women in physics in Slovenia, AIP Conf. Proc.
1517 , 148 -149 (2013); J. Arenzon, P. Duarte, S. Calvalcanti and M. Barbosa, Women and
physics in Brazil: publications, citations and H index, AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 78 -79 (2013); K.
El -Sayed, H. Hosny and S. Helmy, Women in physics in Egypt: challenges and progress, AIP
Conf. Proc. 1517 , 98 -99 (2013) .
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effort illuminates the situation of women in physics, AIP Conf. Proc. 1517 , 53 (2013).
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https://www.census.gov/popest/data/historical/2000s/vintage_2009 / (17 Jun 2016). 18
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Education Coalition , 2011, https://phystec.physics.cornell.edu/content/ crisis -physics -education
(18 Jun 2016).
11. L. Charleston, R. Adserias, N. Lang and J. Jackson, Intersectionality and STEM: the role of
race and gender in the academic pursuits of African American women in STEM, J. Prog. Policy
Prac. 2 (3), 275 -282 (2014).
12. L. Kost, S. Pollock and N. Finkelstein, The persistence of the gender gap in introductory
physics, AIP Conf. Proc. 1064 , 139 (2008).
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