Answer to Question #167546 in Physics for Izziddin adam

Question

How to improve gender balance in physics?

Answer 1

The public image of physics fundamentally misrepresents the role science has in our society – how it furthers our understanding of the world, how the application of fundamental research improves lives, and how it allows us to gather evidence to craft interventions that will sustain our planet. Changing how the process and purpose of science is represented can therefore be effective in attracting communally oriented individuals, regardless of gender.

Representation of women scientists in the media also plays an important role in shaping girls’ and women’s ideas of what they can be. The 2016 film Hidden Figures, which follows the true stories of three black women mathematicians at NASA, broke box-office records and catalysed STEM education initiatives aimed at increasing the representation of women of colour. Nevertheless, women continue to be underrepresented in mainstream media. Only 19% of children’s books feature a girl as the main character, and less than 1% are led by a character who is a person of colour. According to a 2018 report, women scientists only account for one-third of STEM characters in film, television and streaming today; and when they are on screen, more often than not those characters are white.