TheDearthofFemalePhysicsMajorsatEmbry-RiddleAeronauticalUniversity

For

Embry-RiddleAeronauticalUniversity,DaytonaBeach

PhysicalScienceDepartment

By

ZoeZontos

Embry-RiddleAeronautical

April1,2013

ii

TABLEOFCONTENTS

TableofFigures...........................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................iv

AudienceScenario........................................................................................................................................v

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1

BackgroundandPurpose.........................................................................................................................1

SourcesofData........................................................................................................................................1

ScopeofAnalysis.....................................................................................................................................2

CollectionofData.........................................................................................................................................3

TheRealityandWhatWomenThink.......................................................................................................3

FamilyObligationsandOtherFactors......................................................................................................4

OtherUniversities....................................................................................................................................6

Results:ConclusionandRecommendations................................................................................................7

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................7

Recommendations...................................................................................................................................7

References....................................................................................................................................................9

Appendix....................................................................................................................................................11

FemaleStudentSurvey..........................................................................................................................11

SurveyData............................................................................................................................................13

iii

TABLEOFFIGURES

Figure1.Bachelor’sDegreesinPhysicsforMen/Womenfrom2000-2009................................................3

Figure2.HowFamilyObligationsAffectPhysicists......................................................................................5

Figure3.ThePercentageofWomenintheSchoolofScienceatMIT(1985-1994).....................................6

iv

ABSTRACT

ThepurposeofthisreportistoanalyzetheshortageoffemalephysicsmajorsatEmbry-RiddleAeronauticalUniversity,andwhatrecommendationsshouldbeimplementedtointerestmorewomeninpursuingphysicsasacareer.Physicsisoftenseenasthetoughestandmoststrenuousofthephysicalsciencesandthoughtofasamale-dominatedfield.Ofapproximately5,200studentsthatattendEmbry-Riddle,noteven1%accountsforthephysicsmajorsthatarefemale.Thisfactisapointofinterestindiscoveringandunderstandingwhywomengenerallyseemtohaveanaversiontophysics.Theresearchbeingdoneinthisstudyisutilizedtoidentifythefactorsthatrevealthereasonswhywomenarenotasinterestedinphysicsaswellasproviderecommendationsforasolutiontothisproblem.Theresearchfortheinformationpertinenttothisstudywasobtainedbyanalyzingpreviousresearchonthetopic,readingthroughrelevantscholarlyjournals,andconductingastudentsurvey.Throughthedata,itwasrevealedthatthereareindeedanumberoffactors(suchasmotherhood)thatcontributetothelackofwomenphysicistsbutthatthenumberoffemalephysicsmajorsisslowlyincreasingdespitethesefactors.Inthefuture,thePhysicalScienceDepartmentatEmbry-Riddleshouldlooktoimplementtheresearchonthesefactorsinordertocreatesupportorextracurricularprogramsthatencouragemorewomentopursueacareerinphysicsaswellasperiodicallyinvitefemalephysiciststotalkabouttheirperspectives.Thisworkwillhopefullyresultintheeventualincreaseoffemalephysicsmajorsandanincreaseinthebalancebetweenmaleandfemalephysicistsinapresentlymale-dominatedfield.

v

AUDIENCESCENARIO

TheprimaryaudienceforthisscenarioisthePhysicalScienceDepartmentatEmbry-Riddle

AeronauticalUniversity(ERAU).Thisreportwillprovideananalysisoftheshortageoffemalephysics

majorsattheuniversityandwhatfactorscontributetoalackoffemaleinterestinphysics,andbasedon

thefindingsandthedatathatisanalyzed,itwillproviderecommendationsastowhatmeasuresthe

ERAUPhysicalScienceDepartmentshouldseektotakewhenlookingtoincreasethenumberoffemale

physicsmajors.Thesecondaryaudiencesinclude:theChairmanofthePhysicalScienceDepartment,the

ProgramLeadersoftheEngineeringPhysicsandSpacePhysicsprograms,ERAUphysicsprofessors,and

theWomen’sCenter.Theactionsofthetargetedaudiencecanhelpleadtomorefemaleinterestin

physicsaswellasagreaterbalanceintheunequalgenderratiocurrentlyinplace.

1

INTRODUCTION

BackgroundandPurpose

Thelackofwomeninthefieldofphysicshasfrequentlybeenanotedobservationthroughout

thescientificcommunity.Science,technology,engineering,andmathematics(STEM)fieldshavealways

beenthoughtofasmale-dominatedfieldsofexpertise.Thefieldofphysicshasthelowestpercentageof

womeninalllevelsofdegreesworldwide(Ivie&LangerTesfaye,2012).Thisproblemislikewisea

noticeabledilemmaatmostuniversitiesincludingEmbry-RiddleAeronauticalUniversity.Asurvey

createdspecificallyforthisstudyindicatedthatonly0.52%ofstudentsmakeupthefemalephysics

majorsatEmbry-Riddle;inotherwords,only27studentsrepresentthefemalephysicspopulation,thus,

makingitoneofthelowestpercentagesoffemalesinanyprogramatERAU.Incomparison,atthe

MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT),in1994,only0.14%offemaleundergraduatesand

graduateswerephysicsmajors,whichmeansonly70studentsoutofthetotal497physicsmajors(“A

Study”,2009).ComparisonsthroughMITandotheruniversitiesindicatethisproblemisnotonlypresent

atERAU.Althoughthenumberofwomenthathavebecomeprominentfiguresinsocietytodayhas

increased,thenumberoffemalephysicistsisstillrelativelylowinallaspectsofacademiaandresearch

alike(Ivie&NiesRay,2005).Therearemanyfactorsthatarethoughttobethereasonsastowhythis

problemstillexistsinuniversitiesandtheprofessionalworld.Thepurposeofthisreportistoresearch

thecausalrelationshipbetweenwhatcauseswomentostayawayfromphysics,whythereissucha

dearthofwomeninthefieldofphysics,andtodismissthenotionthatfemalesarenotascapableof

succeedinginphysicsasmalesare;thus,encouragingmorewomentopursueaninterestinphysics.

SourcesofData

Thisreportobtainsitsinformationfromanumberofsources,bothprimaryandsecondary.The

primarysourceofdatacamefromconductingasurveytoquestionpresent-dayfemalecollegestudents

atERAUandotheruniversitiesabouttheirviewsoncertainfactorsthatmaycorrelatetotherebeing

2

suchalackofwomeninphysics.Theaccuracyofthissurveymayhaveslightquestionabilitybecauseof

itsdistributionthroughFacebook,andthereisnowaytodeterminethatallthesurvey-takerswereall

femalecollegestudents.Althoughthisinaccuracymayreflectthecompletereliabilityoftheinformation

gathered,thequestionsaskedinthesurveywerewrittenanddirectedmainlytowardsafemale

audience.Thequestionsaskedwereusedtoobtaingeneralinformationastowhatfemalestudents

thinkaboutwomeninSTEMfieldsandwhethertheybelievecertainfactorsaretoblameforthe

prejudiceheldagainstwomeninthesefields.Secondarysourcescamefromscholarlyjournalsfrom

organizationssuchastheAmericanInstituteofPhysics,theNationalScienceFoundationandPhysics

Todayandprovidedmanypointsofinformationincludingtables,graphs,andpercentagesregardingthe

changeinnumbersofwomeninphysicsintheUnitedStates.Articlesandjournalsfromuniversitysites

suchasCornellChronicleandtheMITFacultyNewsletterandotherscholarlyjournalssuchasAmerican

Scientistdiscusspossiblefactorsthatrelatetotheproblemthisreportfocusesonaswellasofferthe

opinionsoffemalephysicistscurrentlyfacingthisproblem.Usefulcomparisonsonthenumberoffemale

physicsmajorsatdifferentuniversitiesarealsoofferedaswellasinformationandstatisticstosupport

theanalysisdoneusingthesurvey.

ScopeofAnalysis

Theanalysisprovidedthroughoutthisresearchincludesandisbasedoffofcorrelationsand

relationshipsshowingthedifferenceinnumericaldata,figuresthatrepresentthedatathatwas

obtainedfromthesurveyandsecondarysources,thefactorsthatmaycontributetothepurposeofthis

specificstudy,andresultsandrecommendationsformedfromtheresultsthatcouldbeutilizedto

changethisproblem.Analyzingandstudyingthefactorsthatcausewomentorefrainfromstudyingor

pursuingphysicsareexploredinordertoofferrecommendationsthatthePhysicalScienceDepartment

atERAUcanuseinordertoincreasethenumberoffemalephysicsmajorsthatapplytotheschool.

3

COLLECTIONOFDATA

TheRealityandWhatWomenThink

PhysicsholdsthelowestrepresentationofwomenofallthesciencesintheUnitedStates;21%

offemalesholdthebachelor’sdegreesinphysicsandonly17%holdthePh.D.’sinphysics(Ivie&Langer

Tesfaye,2012).AccordingtoBurrelli,thelowproportionofwomeninSTEMfieldslikephysicshasbeen

researchedofteninbooks,reports,andotherformsofstudy.Eveninthe21stcentury,thepercentageof

womenthatareobtainingdegreesandprofessorialpositionsinphysicsandotherSTEMfieldsis

continuouslylow(2008).Whenaskedinasurveywhatmajororareaofstudyfemalestudentswere

currentlypursuingorinterestedinatERAUandotheruniversities,itwasrevealedthatonly15%are

associatedwithphysicsandtheotherphysicalsciences.Anunsurprising37%ofwomenchosephysicsas

theonesubjecttheywouldnotpickfromalistprovided;thesecondleastfavoritesubjectbeing

LiteratureandEnglishofwhich34%ofwomenchose.LookingatFigure1,theresultsofaskingfemale

studentsthesequestionsisreflectedinastudydonebytheNationalScienceFoundationforthe

male/femaleratiofornumberofphysicsbachelor’sdegreesreceivedbetween2000and2009(see

Figure1).

Figure1-Thenumberofbachelor'sdegreesinphysicsthatwereacquiredbetweentheyears2000and2009forbothmenand

womenisshowntobesignificantlydifferentasreportedbytheNationalScienceFoundation.(References:S&EIndicators

2012).

0500

10001500200025003000350040004500

2000200120022003200420052006200720082009

Men

Women

Bachelor'sDegreesinPhysicsforMen/Womenfrom2000-

YearsNumbe

rofB

SDe

greesinPh

ysics

4

Itisshownthatthereisariseinthenumberoffemaleswhoobtainedbachelor’sdegreesbutthatitis

stilladrasticdifferencewhencomparedtotheirmalecolleagues.Anotherquestioninthesurvey

revealedthatmorefemaleswouldprefertopursueascience-orientedcareerbasedontheirpersonal

intereststhanfemalesthatwouldnot,andmostagreedthatwomenareindeedprejudicedagainstin

STEMfields.Alongwiththesetwoquestions,itwasdeducedthat68%offemalestudentsbelievethat

theyareequallyasintelligentinmathematicsandsciencecoursesasmenare.Thedataimpliesthat

womenarehighlyunderrepresentedinphysics.

FamilyObligationsandOtherFactors

Whenconsideringwhattherealityandwhatwomenthinkofphysicsintermsofacademiaand

theprofessionalworld,itispertinenttoconsiderwhatfactorsresultinthisproblem.WilliamsandCeci

(2012)claimthattherehavebeen“setsoffactorshavebeenofferedtoexplainthedearthofwomenin

math-intensivefields:abilitydifferences;occupationalandlifestylepreferences;andsexdiscrimination”.

AccordingtostatisticspresentedbytheNationalScienceFoundation,morewomenwhopursued

physicsorphysicalscienceandengineeringdegreeskepttheirmaritalstatusasunmarriedasthey

progressedthroughouttheircareersasopposedtowomenwhoaremarriedandhavechildren(Burelli,

2008).Ithaslongbeenthoughtthatwomenarenotascapableasmentopursuehighlevelphysics

careersbecauseofchildrenandfamilyissuesbecomingproblematic,andthus,creatingroadblocksfor

womeninphysics.TakingalookatFigure3,thedatashowstheeffectsofhavingchildrenonbothmen

andwomen’sadvancementsintheircareersinphysics.

5

HowFamilyObligationsAffectPhysicists

Figure2-Thefigureshowsthepercentagesofhowmenandwomenprogressdependingoniftheyhavechildrenornot.

Source:PhysicsToday.

Thedatarevealsthatthewomenwithchildrenprogressmuchslowerthanmenwithchildrendo.These

samewomenarealsothesmallestpercentagewhenitcomestomakingprogressintheircareers;itis

menwithchildrenwhotendtoadvancethefastestintheircareers.Itcanbededucedthatfamilial

obligationsplayaverylargeandimportantroleinthecareerprogressionofwomeninphysics.Inthe

femalestudentsurvey,thequestionofwhetherwomenbelievethatwantingtohaveafamilywillaffect

theirfuturecareersrevealedthatabout27%ofwomenbelievethathavingchildrenwillnotaffecttheir

futurepursuitsintheircareerswhereas59%saidyes,andtheremaining15%percentwerenotsure.Sex

discriminationhasalwaysbeenpresentthroughoutSTEMfieldsandmaritalstatushasalwaysbeenone

thatwasheldagainstwomenscientistsandengineersasopposedtotheirmalecolleagues.Itisstated

byWilliamsandCeci(2012)“thatfemales,startingatayoungage,aremoreinterestedincareersthat

involvelivingthings--suchasmedicine,biology,animalscienceandpsychology--thanfieldssuchas

computerscience,mathematics,physicsandengineering”.WomentendtonotbeasinterestedinSTEM

fieldsasmuchastheyarethebiologicalandmedicinalfieldsincomparisontomen.Thisbeingsaid,

societyseemstohavecreatedthestereotypethatwomenarenotasintelligentinmath-intensivefields

asmenare.Itwasalsofoundthatwomenaremorelikelytobegivenlessstrenuousandchallenging

6

workthanmenarebecauseofhavingchildrenandafamilytotakecareof(Ivie&LangerTesfaye,2012).

Itis,therefore,indicativethatthesefactorsgenerallyhavealargeeffectonwomeninphysics.

OtherUniversities

Onasmallerlevel,whenmakingcomparisonstoanotheruniversity’spopulationofwomenin

STEMfieldstothoseatERAU,itwasfoundthatthepercentageatotheruniversities,suchasMIT,were

extremelylowaswell.ThecomparisonshowninFigure2revealsthatthislackofwomeninphysicsand

otherSTEMfieldsinnotonlyatERAUbutatotheruniversitiesaswell.

ThePercentageofWomenintheSchoolofScienceatMIT(1985-1994)

Gender 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

Female

22 22 21 24 23 22 22 24 24 22

Male

271 269 273 272 265 267 261 253 253 252

Grand Total

293 291 294 296 288 289 283 277 277 274

% Female 7.5% 7.6% 7.1% 8.1% 8.0% 7.6% 7.8% 8.7% 8.7% 8.0%

Figure3.ThepercentageofwomeninMIT’sSchoolofSciencebetweentheyearsof1985-1994.(Source:MITFaculty

Newsletter).

Thisdata,obtainedfromtheMITFacultyNewsletter,reflectsthedilemmathatEmbry-Riddleandmany

universitiesacrossthecountryface;notenoughwomenpursuephysicsdegreesorphysics-oriented

careers.TheAmericanInstituteofPhysicsStatisticalResearchCenterfoundthatthereisalistof

universitiesthatawardedatleast40%ofphysicsdegreestowomenbetweentheyearsof1999-2003.

AmongthelistofuniversitiesincludedwereJacksonStateUniversity,LoyolaUniversity–NewOrleans,

theUniversityofSanFrancisco,andanumberofothers.Anencouragingnumber,althoughitmaybe,

theseuniversitieshadtohaveawardedonlyaminimumof5degreestowomen;thenumberofwomen

actuallyearningphysicsdegreesateachuniversitywasstillverylow(Ivie&NiesRay,2005).Thoughitis

7

encouragingtoseethereareuniversitiesthathaveahigherdistributionpercentageoffemalephysics

undergraduates,itisstillaslowasthe0.52%offemalephysicsmajorscurrentlyatERAU.Other

universitiesexperiencethesamelackofwomenintheirphysicsprograms.

RESULTS:CONCLUSIONANDRECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

Basedonthisresearch,althoughwomenatERAUandotheruniversitiesarelesspronetopursue

physicsasacareerwhenconsideringthefactorsthatinhibitwomeninphysicsandotherSTEMfields,

thenumberofwomenstudyingphysicsisslowlyontherise.Theresultsofthedataindicatethatthe

factorsthatcausewomentostayaway(includingstereotypesandfamilialobligations,etc.)doaffectthe

numberofwomenthatpursueacareerinphysics,andtheycontinuetobeunderrepresentedinthe

fieldofphysicsatERAUanduniversitiesnationwide.Thefactorthatisoneofthetopcausationsforwhy

womenstayawayfromphysicsandmanyconsiderasthemainreasonwomenkeepawayfromphysics

isfamilyobligationsandresponsibility.Supportingthisclaimisthe59%offemalecollegestudentswho

agreedinthesurveythathavingchildrenwillaffecttheircareersinthefuture.However,referringback

toFigure1andFigure3,thedataalsoconcludesthatthenumberoffemalephysicsmajorsgenerally

continuestoincrease,asslightastheincreasemaybe.Giventime,thefutureincreaseofwomenin

physicsatEmbry-Riddleispromising.

Recommendations

ItisintheinterestofthePhysicalScienceDepartmentatEmbry-RiddleAeronauticalUniversity

tofindnewwaysofimplementationtobringinmorefemalesthatwanttopursueacareerinphysics.It

isaproblemthataffectstheacademicandscientificworld,anditisnotgoingtofixitself(Rice,2007).

TheuniversityshouldlooktocreateprogramsthatreachouttofemalesinphysicsandotherSTEM

fields,andencouragethemtofollowtheirinterestinwhateverphysicalsciencefieldtheychooseto

pursue,whetheritbephysicsoradifferentSTEMfield.Combiningeffortswiththeuniversity’sWomen’s

8

Centerwouldbeaneffectivewaytoreachouttowomeninterestedinstudyingphysicsaswellas

womeninterestedinstudyingotherSTEMfields.Ifmorewomenaretopursuetheirinterestsinphysics,

itisimportantthattheuniversitiestheyattendmotivatethemtodowellandcontinuebecausephysics

widelyseenasanintimidatingsubject.Thedepartmentshouldalsolookintohavingwomenphysicists

cometotheuniversitytotalkaboutgenderbiasinthephysicsandotherphysicalsciencesandthe

hardshipsthatwomenfaceinSTEMfields.Informationalsessionsaboutwomeninphysics,whatthey

cando,howtheywork,andhowitaffectstheirpersonalliveswouldbeanexcellentwaytoincreasethe

numberoffemalephysicsmajors.Peopletendtostayawayfromthethingstheydonotunderstandor

areintimidatedby;providingtherightatmospherecouldhelpEmbry-Riddlesignificantlyincreasethe

numberoffemalephysicsmajorsthatjointheuniversityinforthcomingyears.

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REFERENCES

AStudyontheStatusofWomenFacultyinScienceatMIT.(1999).MITFacultyNewsletter,XI(4),1–12.

RetrievedMarch1,2013,fromhttp://web.mit.edu/fnl/women/women.html.

Burrelli,J.(2008,June.).ThreeYearsofWomeninS&EFacultyPositions-USNationalScience

Foundation(NSF).nsf.gov-NationalScienceFoundation-USNationalScienceFoundation(NSF).

RetrievedFebruary12,2013fromhttp://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08308/.

Ivie,R.,&NiesRay,K.(2005).TheAmericanInstituteofPhysics--PhysicsPublicationsand

Resources.WomeninPhysicsandAstronomy,2005.RetrievedFebruary24,2013,from

http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/women05.pdf

Ivie,R.,&Tesfaye,C.(2012)Womeninphysics:Ataleoflimits.PhysicsToday,65(2),47-50.

RetrievedFebruary18,2013from

http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad/v65/i2/p47s1.

NationalScienceFoundation,NationalCenterforScienceandEngineeringStatistics(NCSES)

(2012).Chapter2.highereducationinscienceandengineering(NSB12-01).Retrieved

March1,2013fromwebsite:http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c2/c2s2.htm.

Rice,M.(2007,April30).Shortageofwomeninphysics.CornellChronicleOnline.RetrievedFebruary10,

2013fromhttp://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April07/women.physics.MR.html.

S&EIndicators2012-Chapter2.HigherEducationinScienceandEngineering-Undergraduate

Education,Enrollment,andDegreesintheUnitedStates-USNationalScienceFoundation(NSF).

(n.d.).nsf.gov-NationalScienceFoundation-USNationalScienceFoundation(NSF).Retrieved

February11,2013,fromhttp://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c2/c2s2.htm#s2.

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Williams,W.,&Ceci,S.(2012).WhenScientistsChooseMotherhood.AmericanScientist,100(2),138-

145.RetrievedFebruary12,2013from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asf&AN=71853149&site=ehot-live.

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APPENDIX

Survey(42responses)

Ladies…whatdoyouprefer?

Whatmajorofstudyareyoucurrentlypursuing/interestedin?

- PhysicalSciences(Math,physics,chemistry,etc.)- Humanities(Arts,non-science,etc.)- Medicinal(Biology,nursing,pharmacy,etc.)- Economics,Business- Engineering- Other

Asafemale,personally,whichsubjectwouldyouNOTpick?

- Physics- Math- Literature/English- ForeignLanguage- Humanities- ComputerClass

Asafemale,doyouwanttohavechildren?

- Yes- No- Maybe

Doyouthinkhavingchildrenwillaffectyourfuturecareer?

- Yes- No- NotSure

Doyouthinkwomenareasgoodatmathandscienceasmenare?

- Yes- No- NotSure

Doyoubelievethatwomenareprejudicedagainstinscience,technology,engineering,andmathfields(STEM)?

- Yes

12

- No- NotReally- MaybeaLittle- NotSure

Lastly…basedsimplyonyourpersonalinterests,wouldyoupreferasciencecareeroranon-sciencecareer?

- Science- Non-science

13

SurveyData

Whatmajorofstudyareyoucurrentlypursuing/interestedin?

PhysicalSciences(Math,physics,chemistry..etc.) 6 15%

Humanities(Arts,non-science..etc). 3 7%

Medicinal(Biology,nursing,pharmacy..etc.) 12 29%

Economics,Business 3 7%

Engineering 10 24%

Other 7 17%

Asafemale,personally,whichsubjectwouldyouNOTpick?

Physics 15 37%

Math 5 12%

Literature/English 14 34%

ForeignLanguage 1 2%

Humanities 2 5%

Computerclass 4 10%

Asafemale,doyouwanttohavechildren?

Yes 28 68%

No 10 24%

Maybe 3 7%

Doyouthinkhavingchildrenwillaffectyourfuturecareerasafemale?

Yes 24 59%

No 11 27%

Notsure 6 15%

Doyouthinkwomenareasgoodatmathandscienceasmenare?

Yes 27 68%

No 9 23%

Notsure 4 10%

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Doyoubelievethatwomenareprejudicedagainstinscience,technology,engineering,andmathfields(STEM)?

Yes 25 61%

No 5 12%

Notreally 2 5%

Maybealittle 8 20%

Notsure 1 2%

Lastly...basedsimplyonyourpersonalinterests,wouldyoupreferasciencecareeroranon-sciencecareer?

Science 23 56%

Non-science 18 44%