What does Gender and Diversity have to do with Physics? Tomas Brage - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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What does Gender and Diversity have to do with Physics?

Tomas Brage Professor in Physics Lund university, Sweden and Member of stearing group for LERU PG-EDI

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Explanation

This is a pdf of my slides and added is a slide on suppressions techniques. In the reference list is marked with yellow a reference to this – I will be happy to send the book in pdf to anyone. Best wishes Tomas

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Start-up question

Which description represents best your experience of Science and how it is practiced? 1. Both the knowledge and practices are based on truth and evidence, without human bias – it is not affected by the characteristics of the Scientist. 2. The content of Science, the knowledge, is not affected by the characteristics, but our methods and how we do things are. 3. Both the content and the practices are affected by the characteristics of the Scientists.

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The Positivistic Paradox in Physics:

Physics is considered to be objective – not affected by the sex or gender or … of the people involved (researcher, teacher, student …) … but …. Culture of Physics is affected by sex, gender, …

• Class-rooms, labs, history, board rooms are almost

always dominated by white men … seems like a contradiction …

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Physics and Gender?

The Physicist looks out in the universe and wonders why there is only matter and no antimatter. Where did the antimatter go? Is one of the most prestigious questions in Physics and the subject of thorough research. The Physicist looks out over the classroom or lab and notes that it is dominated by men. Where did the women and minorities go? Is often a non-question for Physicist and sometimes answered without scientific method.

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Basic model – Levels of Change

• 1. Numbers
• 2. Culture

Gender awareness

• 3. Subject

Gender perspective

Londa Schiebinger, Stanford University

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Answers

Culture: Bias and Meritocracy Culture: Stereotypes/ Hercules Number: Segregation Culture: Discrimination Subject: GRI End resistance Inclusive teaching

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Level 1: Numbers – proof of segregation

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Numbers – Horisontal segregation of Science in Lund

0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0%

% women among students

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Numbers -

The scissors diagram

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 students PhD post-doc lecturers professors females males

% Physics % Chemistry

Vertical segregation

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1 2 3 4 5 6 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55%

Mens chance/womens chance

Percentage women among PhDs

The ratio of men PhD’s to women PhD’s chance to become a Professor.

Physics Maths Science Faculty Geo/Env. Chemistry Biology

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Flexible cascade model

• Science Faculty in Lund

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Phd Phd>Asst Asst prof Asst>Assoc Assoc prof Assoc>prof professor

% women

?

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Vertical segregation

explanations

13

From the leaky pipeline … …. to the vanish box … or diverse pipelines Etzkowitz and Ranga 2011 Ong et al 2017 and the Harvard project

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Actions against horisontal segregation

It is not about ”fixing the women” – but:

• 1. Rethink how we describe, define, apply ...

Science

• 2. Find areas with qualified women first

– then open a position

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Actions agains vertical segregation:

• 1. Simple action: Set cascade goals

– they show if you exclude women

• 2. From traditional mentorsprogram (learn ”the

trick of the trade”) to mentoring for change and analyse sponsoring (de Vries et al. 2011 and 2012)

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• 3. Simple action: Ask ”minorities” to apply!

Or at least:

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Answers

Culture: Bias and Meritocracy Culture: Stereotypes/ Hercules Number: Segregation Culture: Discrimination Subject: GRI End resistance Inclusive teaching

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Level 2: ”Culture”

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The Culture of Physics

Antropology – a classic: SharonTraweek – Beamtimes and Lifetimes – A culture without culture – what is male, defines excellence Later studies: The damgerous myth of objectivity

• makes us more subjective!

From culture-without-culture to Hercules to Effortless Excellence

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What is the percentage of women among Physics professors? Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Poland Questions for the audience: Which has the largest percentage? Which has the smallest percentage?

Culture - Sociology:

Hasse and Trentemoller: UPGEM-project (2008)

• 1. Denmark
• 2. Estonia
• 3. Finland
• 4. Italy
• 5. Poland

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What is the percentage of women among Physics professors? Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Poland Denmark – 3% Estonia – 11% Finland – 12% Poland – 14% Italy – 23%

Culture - Sociology:

Hasse and Trentemoller: UPGEM-project (2008)

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Three cultures ”discovered”: 1. Hercules-culture – the fighter’s culture 2. Care taker-culture – the social culture 3. Working bee-culture – the industrious culture

It is not the culture of the society …….. It is the culture of Physics!

Denmark – 3% Estonia – 11% Finland – 12% Poland – 14% Italy – 23%

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Hercules: Oh yes, there is a lot of competition. This whole process is extremely competitive. The case that the department needs to make to the university is that I am not only good enough for the job, but I am the best person in the world for this job. Care-taker: There’s always a team behind a genius. (...) Good teamwork always brings the best results, but of course, not everyone is lucky enough to find a good group to work with. Sometimes when there are very competitive people, it is difficult to form a group.. Working bee: But in this respect, for us not to show ourselves too much and do no crazy things, we had to sit quiet and pretend we were not there

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Investigation of five countries: Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Poland and Italy What culture defines Physics departments in the different countries? Denmark – 3% - Hercules Estonia – 11% - Working bee Poland – 14% - Working bee Italy – 23% - Care-taker Finland –12% - not a clear culture Remember: It is the perception of the culture, but ..... is it really the culture of Physics? ..... what does Hercules do to minoritized groups?

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Appointment of Professors and Lecturers:

• 20% closed (30% later years)
• 40% only one applicant

Women part of appointed professors:

• Closed: 12%
• Open: 23%

Similar results from Netherlands and Finland

Van den Brink (2010) and Husu (2000)

Does Meritocracy work?

Nielsen (2015) Nature 525 427 – Studie vid Aarhus universitet 2004-2013

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If meritocracy worked, then ”The university would be a realm of the justly unequal” Contradiction! Bias and non-objectivity destroys meritocracy which is emphasized by ”procedures”

Meritocracy and Equality?

Nielsen (2015) Nature 525 427 – Studie vid Aarhus universitet 2004-2013

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• R. B. Freeman and W. Huang, Nature News 513, 305 (2014):

Collaboration: Strength in diversity

• K. Powell, Nature 558, 19 (2018):

These labs are remarkably diverse – here´s why they’re winning in science.

Being inclusive gives research groups a competitive edge. It also happens to be the right thing to do

We focus on strong individuals … But diversity exists in teams! ... And diversity gives quality!

• M. W. Nielsen et al., Nature, human behaviour 2 726

Making gender diversity work for scientific discovery and innovation

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… and if you don’t like Nature ...

• M. W. Nielsen et al., PNAS 114, 1740 (2017)

Opinion: Gender diversity leads to better science

Stewart and Valian 2018, An Inclusive Academy: Achieving Diversity and Excellence, MIT press, Cambridge, USA

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Myth of effort-less success?

FACTS: boys and girls/men and women are equally

• interested in methods, but in different applications/fields
• enthusiastic about Physics, but something happens later …

CONCLUSION: It is not only about recruitment

• Identities are not static – neither of people nor subjects
• Some identities causes friction – renegotiations!
• Specific problem: “The myth of effort-less success”
• Background – school and preparation
• Choice of examples – sports, machines, superheroes …
• Self-confidence contra anxiety – who belongs?

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Actions to improve culture:

• 1. Follow the discussion on EU-level. (LERU-

advice paper on diversity, 2019)

• 2. Team-building for diversity.
• 3. Question the myth of the single, strong,
• ften male, Scientist that does Physics

effortlessly.

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Answers

Culture: Bias and Meritocracy Culture: Stereotypes/ Hercules Number: Segregation Culture: Discrimination Subject: GRI End resistance Inclusive teaching

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Level 3: The subject

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Gender in Research and Innovations

http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/

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Sometimes an obvious gender/sex perspective

Sometimes sex/gender is a characteristic of what we study – biology, medicine, technology, biophysics etc … but this dimension is often forgotten …

http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/

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Always a Gender and Diversity Perspective

Electrons and Stars do not have e.g. gender, but Physics is what Physicists do i e what we teach – what we do research on Culture and Subject are intertwined – who has the power to decide what should be researched and taught? Curiosity-driven Science, but who’s curiosity? Metaphors, examples, representation, role models … All Science is situated with limited sight (Harraway)

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Calculus based, introductory books

• Benson, University Physics

– Traditional book

Simple example – Visual representation

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Visual presentation

Benson

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Visual presentations

Benson

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Pictures of women

Visual presentations

Benson

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Pictures of men

Visual presentations

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It is not easy...

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Thank you for your attention!

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References

• Banaji et al, Project implicit, https://implicit.harvard.edu
• Brage and Lövkrona 2016, Core values work in academia – with experiences from

lund university, Lund University

• Conell 2014, Gender – A World View, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden
• de Vries, Jennifer 2011, Mentoring for change. Melbourne, Victoria: Universities

Australia Executive Women & the LH Martin Institute for Higher Education, Leadership and Management.

• de Vries, Jennifer 2012, ”The bifocal approach: (Re)positioning women´s programs”.

In Strid, Sofia, Husu, L, Gunnarsson, L. (eds.), GEXcel. Work in progress report, volume X: Proceedings from GEXcel Theme 11-12: Gender paradoxes in academic & scientific organisations. Örebro University, Sweden.

• Drew and Canavan 2020, The Gender-Sensitive University, Routledge
• Duchesne, A 2020, Bridging the Gap Between Sex and Gender in Neuroscience,

Frontiers in Neuroscience.

• Etzkowitz and Ranga 2011, gender Dynamics in Science and Technology: From the

leaking pipe-line to the vanish box, Brussels Economic Review 54

• Freeman & Huang 2014, Collaboration: Strength in diversity, Nature News 513 305
• Gonzalves and Danielsson 2020, Physics Education and Gender: Identity as an

Analytic Lens for Research, Springer.

• Harvard project on diverse pipelines: https://hr.fas.harvard.edu/development-diverse-

pipelines

• Hasse and Trentemöller 2008, Break the Pattern!, UPGEM-project report, Tartu

University Press

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• Husu, L. (2001). Sexism, support and survival in academia: Academic women and

hidden discrimination in Finland. Social Psychological Studies 6. Department of Social Psychology, University of Helsinki

• LERU advice papers on Gender: https://www.leru.org/publications?q=gender
• Lundborg and Schönning 2006, investigation of PhD-students situation at the Physics

Department, Uppsala 2006

• Lövkrona, I., and Brage, T. 2016, Master suppression techniques, counter strategies

and affirmation techniques – concepts to understand and combat discrimination within academia, page 147 in Brage and Lövkrona 2016.

• MacNell et al 2014, What’s in a Name: Exposing Gender Bias in Student Ratings of

Teaching, Innov High Educ, Springer Verlag.

• Mazur 1997, Peer Instructions – a user’s manual, Prentice Hall.
• Nielsen 2015, Nature 525 427
• Nielsen, Bloch Carter & Schiebinger 2018, Making gender diversity work for scientific

discovery and innovation. Nature, human behaviour. 2 726-734

• Nielsen et al. 2017, Opinion: Gender diversity leads to better science, PNRAS 114 1740
• Ong 2017, Counter spaces for women of colour in STEM higher education: …, J. Res.

Science Teaching.

• Quinn et al. 2020, Phys. Rev. Educ. Res. 16 010129.
• Rippon, G. (2019) The Gendered Brain: The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of

the female brain, Vintage.

• Rosser 1995, Teaching the Majority, Teacher’s college press
• Rosser 2012, Breaking into the Lab, New York University Press
• Stewart and Valian 2018, An Inclusive Academy, MIT press

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• Schiebinger 2003, Has Feminism Changed Science, Harvard University Press
• Schiebinger (ed) 2008, Gendered Innovations in Science and Engieering,

Stanford University Press

• Schiebinger et al: https://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/
• Spears et al. 2008, Seeing gender: Tools for change, Manhattan, KS: Midwest

Equity Assistance Center. (CD-ROM).

• Spears (2008). Seeing Gender (Invited Editorial). The Physics Teacher, 46(3),

136-137

• Stewart and Valiant 2018, An Inclusive Academy – Achieving Diversity and

Excellence, MIT press.

• Traweek 1998, Beamtimes and Lifetimes, ..., Harvard United Press
• Wennerås and Vold 1997, Nepotism and sexism in peer review, Nature 387

341

• VR 2020: Does the Swedish Research Council Have a Gender-equal

Assessment Process, https://www.vr.se/english/just-now/news/news- archive/2020-05-07-does-the-swedish-research-council-have-a-gender-equal- assessment-process.html

• Ås, Berit, 1982, Kvinnor tillsammans. Handbok i frigörelse. Gidlunds.

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Suppression techniques

(Berit Ås) Suppression - Countermeasures - Confirmation:

• Making invisible –Take place - Visualizing
• Ridicule – Questioning - Adherence
• Withhold info – the card on the table - Inform
• Double bind – break the pattern – double reward
• Heap blame – intellectualize – confirm standards
• Objectifying
• Force/threat of force