Success in STEM-based fields provides a path to highly regarded and powerful positions in society. Hegemonic structures of society have excluded women and other non-hegemonic groups from these fields and from recognition in these fields. Between 1903 and 2018 the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded 113 times to 212 individuals. Marie Curie was…

The visibility of female role models in science is vital for engaging and retaining women in scientific fields. In this study, we analyse four senior secondary science courses delivered across the states and territories in Australia: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physics. We compared male and female representation within the…

This is an empirical study on the underrepresentation of people of color in scientific careers. Grounded in critical race theory, the paper examines the lived experiences of six Black women physicists and addresses obstacles faced in their career paths and strategies used to overcome these obstacles. Data for this study were collected through…

The study investigated the Zimbabwean female participation in physics, with special emphasis on the factors of identity formation considered as contributing to developing an orientation to physics by female students. The main study from which this paper was taken explored the influence of identity formation on the Zimbabwean Advanced Level…

The study explored facets of identity formation considered to be of significance by Zimbabwean female adolescent students in physics. Four high schools that were offering physics at A' level in the Midlands Province, in Zimbabwe were targeted. Nine female adolescents doing mathematics and physics and only mathematics were chosen. Data generation…

The underrepresentation of women in physics doctorate programs and in tenured academic positions indicates a need to evaluate what may influence their career choice and persistence. This qualitative paper examines eleven females in physics doctoral programs and professional science positions in order to provide a more thorough understanding of why…

In 2007, the Women in Physics Group of the Institute of Physics initiated the Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award. The award seeks to recognise the outstanding achievements of women physicists who are embarking on a career in physics and to promote the career opportunities open to people with physics qualifications. The prize is…

The majority of existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research studies compare women to men, yet a paucity of research exists that examines what differentiates female career choice within the physical sciences. In light of these research trends and recommendations, this study examines the following question: On average,…

University leadership from career and organizational viewpoints are discussed from the perspective of a woman physicist. Laws of physics are used, through appropriate analogies, as templates for structuring useful life lessons on holistic WHAM leadership. Interactive university skill sets and program policies based on holistic WHAM approaches are…

Photovoltaic-cell-based projects have been used to train eight incoming undergraduate women who were part of a residential summer programme at a women's college. A module on renewable energy and photovoltaic cells was developed in the physics department. The module's objectives were to introduce women in science, technology, engineering and…

The thrust in education today is to encourage young women to enter nontraditional fields of study such as chemistry, physics, and biology. In order to better prepare the next generation of women scientists, then, we should examine the experiences of women participants already working within these areas. We can learn from their experiences. What…

This study explores how students' physics identities are shaped by their experiences in high school physics classes and by their career outcome expectations. The theoretical framework focuses on physics identity and includes the dimensions of student performance, competence, recognition by others, and interest. Drawing data from the Persistence…

Women and their creativity are underrepresented in science. To date, few women have been awarded the Nobel Prize in science. Eleven female Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and physiology/medicine between 1901 and 2006 were compared with 37 males who received the Nobel Prize in the same area one year prior and one year after the women. Data…

In the last several decades the image of the leaky pipeline has become commonplace as a metaphor for the loss of women and minorities to the physics enterprise at every stage, from high school to the most advanced positions in academia. At the 2007 Winter AAPT meeting in Seattle, however, the AAPT Committee on Women in Physics sponsored a session…

The disparity in persistence between males and females studying physics has been a topic of concern to physics educators for decades. Overall, while female students perform as well as or better than male students, they continue to lag considerably in terms of persistence. The most significant drop in females studying physics occurs between high…