Gender discrimination in physics and astronomy: Graduate student experiences of sexism and gender microaggressions

Abstract

This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] Sexism occurs when men are believed to be superior to women, and is thought to be one of the reasons for women's underrepresentation in physics and astronomy. The issue of sexism in physics and astronomy has not been thoroughly explored in the physics education literature and there is currently no clear language for discussing sexism in the field. This article seeks to begin a conversation on sexism in physics and astronomy and offer a starting point for language to discuss sexism in research groups and departments. Interviews with 21 women in graduate physics and astronomy programs are analyzed for their individual experiences of sexism. Although a subset of women did not report experiencing sexual discrimination, the majority experienced subtle insults and slights known as microaggressions. Other participants also experienced more traditional hostile sexism in the form of sexual harassment, gender role stereotypes, and overt discouragement. These results indicate the existence of sexism in the current culture of physics and astronomy, as well as the importance departments must put on eliminating it and educating students about sexism and microaggressions.

Exploring how gender figures the identity trajectories of two doctoral students in observational astrophysics

“…Evidence 5 provided 4 StarLab is a pseudonym for the research group that both Molly and Ruby were members of at Eastern University. 5 As there are several sources for data in each case study (interviews, photo-journals, field notes), I have indicated the source code for each piece of data (INT ¼ interview, PJ ¼ photo-journal, FN ¼ fieldnotes), along with cataloguing codes. Transcriptions are presented verbatim with syntax errors indicated as [sic], and pauses in the transcript as ellipses […].…”

“…This perspective permits the examination of a more fluid range of gender identities, and how these intersect with a range of astrophysicist identities. The analysis is also shifted from identifying structural factors (e.g., mentoring [5] or departmental support [22]) related to women's persistence in the field, to the subtle ways that gender can influence students' beliefs about who they must be to engage in astrophysics culture.…”

“…There were comments that, just on fact that you're the only girl here. (INT.01) Recent research on the experiences of women in physics departments points to the microaggressions that women often encounter when they are in the minority in a physics culture [5]. Some of these microaggressions materialize as assumptions of inferiority, which Molly experienced on more than one occasion:…”

“…The LSAGS study showed that women differentially experience graduate supervision, and that women were more likely to report challenges with the "two-body problem" related to relationships and parenting in academia. Other recent research has also showed that women in graduate physics and astronomy programs were likely to experience sexism and microagressions, particularly in the form of gender role stereotypes, indicating that a culture of sexism still exists in physics and astronomy programs [5]. While these studies tell us much about the kinds of structural limitations that women encounter when they enter astrophysics, there is still much to learn about the experiences women have navigating the cultural elements of the field.…”

Students’ flexible use of ontologies and the value of tentative reasoning: Examples of conceptual understanding in three canonical topics of quantum mechanics

“…Furthermore, it is increasingly recognized that physics education is not simply about the transfer of a body of knowledge but also about engaging people and developing their capacities in (and in the long run helping define) the discourse, practices, and community norms of physics (Refs. [37][38][39][40][41]). …”