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Women Physicists Speak Again

by Rachel Ivie, Stacy Guo

Highlights

• More than 1350 women physicists from more than 70 countries responded to a survey designed to elicit information about their educational backgrounds, careers, the balance between work and family, and opinions about physics as a career (Table 1). The survey was conducted in conjunction with the Second International Conference of Women in Physics in 2005. The report includes data on degrees awarded to women in about twenty countries (Appendix).
• Most responding women physicists said that they chose physics as a career early, primarily during secondary school (Table 2). Most women physicists reported receiving positive attention from physics professors as undergraduates (Table 4) and had either excellent or good relationships with their graduate advisors (Table 6).
• During their education and careers, most responding women physicists reported that they relied on the support of at least one other person, along with their own determination, will power, and hard work (Table 5, 8, and 15).
• Women physicists from developing countries were more likely than those from developed countries to report that they have inadequate resources, including funding, equipment, and travel money (Table 14). Women from developing countries also had children earlier than women from developed countries (Table 19).
• Although a majority of the responding women physicists said they would choose physics again, a majority also reported being discouraged about physics. Many spoke about negative interaction with colleagues, including many stories about discriminatory attitudes (Table 17). Eighty percent said that attitudes about women in science need improvement (Table 18).
• The responding women physicists reported both positive and negative effects of marriage and children on their careers (Table 20).
• In the first international survey of women in physics, women spoke a great deal about the effects of children and childcare demands on their careers. However, in this study, women were careful to point out that the main problem is that women in physics continue to face discrimination and negative attitudes.