Women among Physics & Astronomy Faculty

The representation of women among physics faculty members continues to grow, reaching 14% in 2010. Over one-fourth of the newly hired physics faculty members in 2010 were women, and women continued to be hired as assistant professors, as well as instructors and adjuncts, at well above their availability rate among doctoral recipients. In 2010, about 15% of PhD-granting physics departments had five or more women among their faculty members. The representation of women among faculty in astronomy departments continues to be higher than in physics departments; in 2010 19% of faculty members in astronomy-only departments were women. These findings are based on the Academic Workforce Survey, a census of US degree-granting physics and astronomy departments that the SRC conducts every two years.