Gender Differences in Science: An Expertise Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach to research on gender differences in science that uses the work on expertise in science as a framework for understanding gender differences. Because gender differences in achievement and participation in the sciences are largest in physics, the focus of this review is on physics. The nature of expertise is first discussed and a framework that focuses on factors that influence the emergence of expertise in physics is presented. This is used to interpret what is known about gender differences in science, particularly physics. Next, the potential contributions of the research on gender differences to our understanding of expertise are discussed. Using what is learned from these two areas of research, recommendations are made for future research examining gender differences in physics. It is suggested that such an approach be used for other areas of science, such as chemistry, where large gender differences in achievement and participation also exist.The underrepresentation of women in the sciences is a significant and well documented societal concern (Miller et al. 2006;Stake 2006). Although the reasons for the problem are debated, there is no debate about the fact that women are underrepresented in the scientific community. For instance, in recent years, women received 34% of the master's degrees in computer science, 21% of the master's degrees in physics, 41% of the Masters degrees in chemistry, and 21% of the master's degrees in engineering (National Science Foundation Educ Psychol Rev (

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