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    Gender Bias in Physics

    I'm at a workshop in Physics - I've attended each year since 2001.  The gender imbalance is somewhat in favor of the males (perhaps 60-65% male), but the AAPT organization has made great efforts to search out women and minorities for the program.  For the women, it's a great networking opportunity, as well as a chance to have fun with other women in Physics.

    Joanne Jacobs has a link to a NYT article about efforts to increase the numbers of women, and why the gender imbalance occurs.

    If the gender imbalance persists in physics, engineering and computer science, will those departments go the way of men’s wrestling? Or, perhaps, Title IX could be satisfied by creating Women’s Way of Knowing Physics. Trust me, this is not what women scientists want.
    This is a serious issue.  By insisting that numbers have to be equal, Physics & Engineering programs could have limits put on their programs, and grind Physics education to a virtual.

    It also isn't fair - do dance programs refuse to accept more women until sufficient men have enrolled?   Will cosmetology schools have to troll the streets for men, until the imbalance is corrected?

    That's just silly - whatever happened to Freedom of Choice?  Or does that just apply when it's convenient?
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    Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2008 8:14 AM by lfox368806
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    Joan said:

    This past year, our parochial school took on a brand new project that actually promoted participation by all interested students---both boys and girls.  I had the great privilege of working with my middle school students on a robotics unit (an extension of an existing classroom unit on simple machines).  The learning experience resulted in a regional tournament for both high school and junior high students.  

    At any given time, we usually had an even number of female and male students working after school.  These were volunteers who were not made to stay after classes but chose to do so by reserving a place ahead of time for each day or set of days.

    The experience for all was wonderful!  The girls were especially good at documentation of the scientific/engineering logs.  The boys were especially adept at computer programming code and repairing the robots.  All talents were needed and used!  We could not have accomplished what we did unless all participants, regardless of gender, had given their all and used each of their "gifts". Each had a new appreciation for all talents utilized, talents not often experienced in a traditional classroom setting where worksheets and writing are the order of the day.

    This unit of robotics encompassed physics, engineering, writing and composition, problem solving, math, organizational skills, and many other content areas.  Many on the team of 16 students had known learning disabilities.  It all worked because everyone worked together in a "hands-on" setting.

    This was our first year of participation, and the learning curve was significant for the students as well as their teacher!  I was indeed proud of each and every one of these young people---both boys and girls!

    We hope to do this again!

    # July 17, 2008 5:09 PM
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