Female percentages on physics faculties meet expectations
College Park, MD - (Feb 25, 2005) The percentage of women holding faculty
positions in physics and astronomy is consistent with the percentage of women
who earned degrees in the past, the Statistical
Research Center of the American
Institute of Physics reported last Friday. Currently, the numbers of women entering
physics and physics-related sciences are increasing, but fewer are entering physics
than other fields and women are still in the minority.
"The most provocative thing about this report is the finding that women
are NOT under-represented on physics and astronomy faculties, as most people
assume," said Dr. Rachel Ivie, the study's author.
Full
text of the report
Among the report's conclusions:
- Examination of the academic “pipeline” reveals that women
disproportionately leave physics
between taking it in high school and earning a bachelor’s degree. While
almost half of high
school physics students are girls, less that one-fourth of bachelor’s degrees
in physics are
earned by women. After this initial “leak” in the pipeline, women
are represented at about the
levels we would expect based on degree production in the past. There appears
to be no leak in
the pipeline at the faculty level in either physics or astronomy
- The representation of women in physics and astronomy at all levels continues
to increase. At the high school level, almost half of physics students are girls.
During 2003, women earned 22% of the bachelor’s degrees in physics and
18% of the PhDs in physics-a record high. In astronomy in 2003, women earned
46% of bachelor’s degrees and 26% of PhDs.
- Astronomy has a much higher representation of women than does physics.
Although the percentage of
degrees awarded to women in physics continues to increase, physics is not attracting
women as quickly as other fields.
- There are 18 physics departments that award at least 40% of their bachelor's
degrees to women. There are 10 physics departments that award more than 25% of
their PhDs to women. There are also 18 women’s colleges that award at least
a bachelor’s degree in physics, although these colleges account for only
a small percentage of bachelor’s degrees in physics earned by women.
- Women are 10% of the faculty members in degree granting physics departments.
In stand-alone astronomy departments, the percentage of women faculty members
is 14%. In addition, women are better represented at departments that do not
grant graduate degrees and in the lower ranks of the faculty.
More information
Dr. Rachel Ivie, Principal Research Associate
Statistical Research Center
American Institute of Physics
301-209-3081
rivie@aip.org
Martha J. Heil
mheil@aip.org
301-209-3088 |
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