Download Physics is for women - if

Interaction
between physics and
a woman
Helle Kaasik1), Imbi Tehver1), Anu Ülejõe2)
1)Institute
of Physics, University of Tartu, Estonia
2)Tartu City Government, Dept. of Education, Estonia
e-mail: [email protected]
So few women in physics?
It is a fact that most physicists are men.
For example, see the situation at the University of Tartu: the figures
prove it, both at study and at work [1]:
100%
80%
60%
men
women
40%
20%
0%
1
2
3
Physics
students:
1- bachelors
2- M.Sc.
3- Ph.D.
100%
80%
60%
men
women
40%
20%
0%
1
Physics
employees:
1- fellows,
assistants
2- professors
2
Why is this a problem?
2
Women for physics or
physics for women?

a) Does physics need more women?
 Are there possible discoveries in
physics that only women can
make? We cannot prove it, but we
consider this unlikely. Although it
has been found that the gendercorrelated traits of a personality
influence the results of a scientific
work, we accept that physics can
somehow be done even without
women.


b) Do women need more
physics?
 Let us assume that science is
for people, not people for
science. It is not physics that
has the problem,
but women, who want to deal with
physics.Some of them find it hard,
even too hard for them - and partly
just because they are women.
I will suffer
without women,
but I’ll survive.
I will survive
without physics,
but I’ll suffer...
3
Are we researchers - or
a research object?
• To solve with all the power of science such problems as:
•why is it hard for a woman to be a physicist;
•why do most women avoid physics;
•how to increase the participation of women in physics, etc.
- we should apply the methods appropriate for the field of study.
• These problems are far more similar to the problems of
sociology (e.g: why teens get pregnant, how to make youth to learn more
languages, etc.) than to the problems of physics.
•If we want to solve such problems, a close collaboration with
sociologists is needed - unless female physicists wanted to start
the re-inventing of sociology.
4
However, we can at least try to study it in our way:
Interaction between
physics and a woman



There are a number of reasons why women come (or do not
come) into physics or why they leave (or do not leave) it.
These reasons can be presented as forces of attraction or
repulsion between physics and a woman. As assumed in our
active standpoint that physics is for women, we consider the
forces influencing the woman at present.
The direction and magnitude of these forces depend on both her
personality and on the environment.
$$
5
Fundamental interactions:
I Natural forces
These forces arise from natural differences between men and women. Hopefully, the times when political
correctness did not allow us to recognize the existence of such differences, has remained into past.
Examples:

variance of most indicators, including IQ (and, as result, also the occurrence of extra high IQ favorable for
physics) is greater among male population than female [5];

having children is physically more demanding to mothers than to fathers, the resulting break in the career is
hard to overcome in physics;

women have less reproductive time - not easily compatible with the long studies needed to become a
physicist.
Principally these forces can be studied with a quantitative methods of social science, but

- it is hard to do it without receiving accusations in discrimination;

- there is not much we can change, although we can take these forces into account in organization
of society.
II Social forces
Under this we join everything that depends on human attitudes, relationships, traditions and opinions.
Examples:

tradition to give girls less (or lower-quality) education in science, even if schools and programs for girls and
boys are the same; correctness valued in women and creativity in men;

career decisions are made at a young age, that is especially sensitive to the opinions of significant others maybe women are more sensitive to the public opinion and more concerned about conformity;

a result of the fact that women avoid physics: good choice of high-quality male partners and few women
competitors in physics departments;

fear to be different from other women;

stereotypes about female physicists/scientists (yet to be found out, if and where they really exist);

tender care for the few women in physics: e.g. always sweets saved for them.
These forces can to some extent be influenced with the social manipulation, the attitude forming or
the public awareness campaign, etc. A thorough sociological study is needed to do it effectively.
6
Fundamental interactions: (continued)
III Financial forces
Into this kind of forces we join everything that depends mainly (or can be strongly influenced by) money.
Examples:

lower pay and more childcare/household obligations for women in many countries;

study loans and scholarships selection criteria are not gender-blind;

full-time job, full-time studies and family together;

high financial security and good salary in many countries in senior physicist positions.
Principally these forces can be influenced with a well-directed funding.
IV Inner forces
We could also call them spiritual forces, if this word had not so different meanings for different people.
Examples:

joy and excitation of discoveries;

freedom to follow person’s own interests in physics;

curiosity about explaining the functioning of the world;

good feeling from an intensive use of the brain;

possibility of getting 100% involved in theoretical problems, which helps forgetting about hard everyday
life; etc, etc...
To communicate openly and broadly about these feelings would make women to understand that such
feelings are normal and legitimate and motivate girls who have not tried it before.
It is not hard to explain, why the repulsive forces of this kind remain to be found from the questioning of nonphysicists...
7
Situation in Estonia
• History: There is an ancient tradition in Estonia that women are independent - not subordinate to
men, but equal, although different partners. Nevertheless, a clear distinction between the tasks of
men and women has existed all the time and has been existing to some extent until now.
• Women in society: Nowadays women in Estonia are well educated and mostly employed.
Women and men get the same basic education in Estonia, and there are more female students at
universities than the male ones. Only 6% of working-age women choose to stay home. Among
professionals, the average salary of women is 70% of men’s salary. The main responsibility for
home and children belongs traditionally to women: women spend 1.8 times more time for
household care and there are 20 times more single mothers than single fathers [2].
1 Teacher training
2 Humanities
3 Social sciences
4 Commerce and law
5 Natural sciences, mathematics
and computer sciences
6 Medicine and public health
7 Engineering
8 Agriculture, forestry and home
economics
9 Transport and communication
10 Service trades
11 Mass communication and
documentation
12 Other
13 Total
Percent of women in higher education,
Estonia 2000 [2]
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9 10 11 12 13
students
graduates
8
More about Estonia:
• the bigger is the part of teaching
(compared to research) in a position,
the higher is the percentage of women
[3].
pro
fes
tr a
so
or d
r
ina
ry
pro
se
nio
f.
r le
ct u
rer
lec
t ur
se
er
nio
r te
ac
he
r
tea
ch
er
as
se
sis
nio
t an
r re
t
se
arc
he
r
res
ea
rch
er
oth
er
TO
TA
L
• the percent of women diminishes with
academic level;
women
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
ex
•Women in science: Women actively
participate in science in Estonia, there
are many women scientists. However,
two clear tendencies appear:
Academic staff with an employment contract by
academic post, 2000
men
•Women in physics: However, there is generally only a small percent of women in physics,
starting from the first years of university studies until the highest levels of the academic career and the percent is decreasing with the level.
100%
80%
60%
men
women
40%
20%
0%
1999
2000
2001
Physics Bachelor’s (first-level) degrees
awarded in Estonia in 1999-2001: as can
be seen in the figure, percent of women
is small and even slowly diminishes.
Only 15% of Ph.D.-s in physics were
awarded to women at the University of
Tartu in 1992-2000 [3].
9
The further up, the more
in minority
Physics-the last science
for a woman
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Percentage of women among science grantholders
Estonian Science Foundation 2002
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
men
women
M.Sc.
Ph
s
ic
ys
le
Al
xa
e
ci
s
ct
es
nc
g
in
er
l.
io
.l b
o
e
ie
in
,m
sc
g
y
o
tr
En
is
ge
m
o
he
Bi
C
e
nc
s
r
Ag
ic
tu
ul
re
M
e
in
id c
e
e
ci
la s
ci
o
S
es
nc
Physics has the smallest percentage of
women compared to other sciences [4].
um
H
e
iti
an
s
Ph.D.
Gender distribution of the academic
staff at the Faculty of Physics and
Chemistry, University of Tartu, 2000.
The top academic council in Estonia,
Estonian Academy of Sciences, has one
woman member out of 57 [3].
So in spite of good status of women in society, Estonia belongs to the
group of countries with the least women in physics:
Women Enrolling In Physics (Harding, J.,1998) [6]:
England, Swiss, Germany, Austria, USA, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, India
2-19%
France, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Russia, Israel
20-35%
Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Philippine
40-57%
10
Causes of the situation

The natural and inner forces tend to be here of the same background level as in
other countries.
 As in recent years there has been a variety of (large amplitude and frequency)
economic and political changes in Estonia, relative stability of the fact “few women in
physics” suggests that the main reasons for it are not in financial forces.
 So it is probably social forces - attitudes, traditions and opinions - that makes the
resultant of all forces to keep most women in Estonia far from coming into/staying in
physics.
What can we do?
 A full sociological study is needed to find out the causes of the situation - the social
forces - and their mechanisms, mutual interference etc.
 Separate data for physics are needed, as official gender statistics or administrative
structures often connect physics with mathematics, chemistry or other natural sciences
and it hides the large gender differences in physics.
 In-depth interviews with women physicists, also with women ex-physicists and
potential physicists are needed to form hypotheses - to be confirmed by statistical
study of representative samples of population.
 Measures can be taken to improve the situation for women in physics, when laws of
forces between women and physics become established.
11
References and data sources
[1] www.ut.ee: lists of students and employees of University of Tartu.
[2] Ann Ojala, Women and men in Estonia 2001. Statistical office of Estonia,
2001.
[3] Ene Ergma, Women in the Science of Estonia. In:Research and development
2000. Statistical office of Estonia, pp. 34-41, 2000 (in Estonian).
[4] www.etf.ee: list of grants 2002.
[5] www.megafoundation.org/UltraHIQ/HIQNews/Gender_Differences.html;
http://members1.chello.nl/p.cooijmans/FAQ.htm
[6] http://www.wgsact.net/e-library/e-lib0004.html
12