Women in physics leadership

Abstract

If we are to increase women’s participation in physics, we need to attract and retain women at all levels in the field. Strong gains have been made in faculty numbers at the associate and assistant professor level, but full professors remain predominantly male, and the numbers of women working as lab directors or department chairs is mostly unknown. There has been very little research looking at the participation level of physics women in a broad range of leadership positions such as director, lab manager, dean, or department head. This paper will showcase the double bind that physics women in leadership positions face as they are forced to simultaneously deal with the many barriers facing women in leadership and those specific to women in physics fields. Given the parallel structures of barriers involved, women in physics who want to advance into leadership positions have fewer role models, face more unconscious bias, and have to deal with higher standards.If we are to increase women’s participation in physics, we need to attract and retain women at all levels in the field. Strong gains have been made in faculty numbers at the associate and assistant professor level, but full professors remain predominantly male, and the numbers of women working as lab directors or department chairs is mostly unknown. There has been very little research looking at the participation level of physics women in a broad range of leadership positions such as director, lab manager, dean, or department head. This paper will showcase the double bind that physics women in leadership positions face as they are forced to simultaneously deal with the many barriers facing women in leadership and those specific to women in physics fields. Given the parallel structures of barriers involved, women in physics who want to advance into leadership positions have fewer role models, face more unconscious bias, and have to deal with higher standards.