Date: Thu 17-Oct-2019
Time: 4:05-5:00pm
Location: PSC 1136
Speaker: TBA
Title: The Representation and Retention of Women in Physics and Astronomy
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) conducts nationwide surveys of physics and astronomy departments, students, and faculty, and collected data on women’s representation in degrees earned, graduate school enrollment, and faculty employment in 2018. AIP also examined gender differences in salary and stipend amounts, advisor relationships, and retention in astronomy. A greater percentage of women are represented in astronomy compared to physics, and the representation of women in astronomy is increasing over time. In 2018, women earned 22% of physics bachelor’s degrees and 36% of astronomy bachelor’s degrees; furthermore, women earned 20% of physics doctoral degrees and 35% of astronomy doctoral degrees. In academic departments, 19% of physics faculty members and 23% of astronomy faculty members were women. We found no gender differences between the stipend amounts that astronomy students received during graduate school or the salaries that students received after graduating. In our longitudinal study of astronomy graduate students, women were less likely to agree that their advisor encouraged them in attaining their goals, which influenced whether they were employed within the astronomy field five to six years later. We discuss the implications of our findings for the representation and retention of women in astronomy.
