Hi...

Hi...

As you may have guessed I am a women in Science, I hope not to give too much about myself away as I would like this to be a safe place for people to visit and share ideas. I will say that I've studied science in the US and Australia and the comparisons have really opened my eyes to feminism. I never would have considered myself a feminist until I moved to Australia. I'm not sure if it was seeing women in a different culture or if there really is that big of a difference between attitudes towards women in the two countries. 

The thing that gets me though is that no one really seems to want to talk about sexism in a field that in 2003 women were only 18% of PhD's graduating and that was a record high. It seems that in the sciences we believe that we judge people based on their work not their gender, sexual orientation, race ect. To say otherwise is a bit of a taboo. There are studies which look at women in the sciences in Academia, higher education, and in the private sector, but when this is discussed in seminars it feels like people listen respectfully, have their coffee and cookies, then go back to their offices and forget what they heard. When it is discussed in a more workshop forum, it seems that much of the blame is laid on K - 12, granted it is human nature to want to shift the blame to others. It may also be that this has been what I have felt in the departments that I have worked in and perhaps behind the scenes others do more than what they are willing to share.

The American Institute of Physics completed a survey this last year and it had some interesting results. Women are still behind men in the field. We are less likely to get talks at conferences, we are less likely to be advisors, and we are more likely to feel discouraged about working in our field. There needs to be an open, honest, and safe discussion about sexism in Physics. Too many times I've seen men gang up on women when they try to talk about this. I've seen men in the field bully women into thinking that there really isn't a problem and they just need to grow some thicker skin. Some times they are right, but other times they are wrong. It's not easy to point this out and not be labeled something not quite so nice. I hope that here I can find some answers or at least maybe a place to meet others with thoughts, stories or advice on how to be a women in physics.


 - a women in physics -