WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY
The article aims to describe and analyse the opinions of European physicists as to the reasons for the overrepresentation of men in the discipline, as well as to supply some reflections on the barriers encountered by female physicists in their careers. The article is based on qualitative data – 83...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wydawnictwa AGH
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Studia Humanistyczne AGH |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.bg.agh.edu.pl/STUDIA/2019.18.4/human.2019.18.4.13.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797720916172472320 |
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| author | Ewa Krzaklewska Ewelina Ciaputa Paulina Sekuła Justyna Struzik |
| author_facet | Ewa Krzaklewska Ewelina Ciaputa Paulina Sekuła Justyna Struzik |
| author_sort | Ewa Krzaklewska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article aims to describe and analyse the opinions of European physicists as to the reasons for the overrepresentation of men in the discipline, as well as to supply some reflections on the barriers encountered by female
physicists in their careers. The article is based on qualitative data – 83 in-depth interviews with female and
male physicists – collected in 2016 and 2017 under the framework of the project “Gender Equality Network
in European Research Area” (GENERA). The main reasons voiced by interviewees for the gender imbalance
in physics are to be found ‘outside’ the scientific institutions themselves, namely the early processes of the
socialisation of girls and boys, together with existing gender stereotypes. Other reasons are related to recent
developments in academia linked to work organization and structural conditions – precariousness, competitiveness, and the demand for mobility, but also to a masculinised working culture resulting in gender bias, as well
as microaggressions and discrimination. In relation to recent studies showing that awareness of gender (in)
equalities remains of crucial importance for structural/institutional change, the article reflects on the potential
implications of the perception by physicists of the determinants of gender inequality for the implementation
of gender equality policy in research organisations.
Keywords: |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:26:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81c7a792445e4657a3a87296716690c6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1732-2189 2084-3364 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:26:28Z |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Wydawnictwa AGH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Humanistyczne AGH |
| spelling | doaj.art-81c7a792445e4657a3a87296716690c62023-09-02T14:11:45ZengWydawnictwa AGHStudia Humanistyczne AGH1732-21892084-33642019-12-01184132910.7494/human.2019.18.4.13WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITYEwa Krzaklewska0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7662-3373Ewelina Ciaputa 1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9102-1039Paulina Sekuła2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3239-8116Justyna Struzik 3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3381-6180Uniwersytet JagiellońskiUniwersytet JagiellońskiUniwersytet JagiellońskiUniwersytet JagiellońskiThe article aims to describe and analyse the opinions of European physicists as to the reasons for the overrepresentation of men in the discipline, as well as to supply some reflections on the barriers encountered by female physicists in their careers. The article is based on qualitative data – 83 in-depth interviews with female and male physicists – collected in 2016 and 2017 under the framework of the project “Gender Equality Network in European Research Area” (GENERA). The main reasons voiced by interviewees for the gender imbalance in physics are to be found ‘outside’ the scientific institutions themselves, namely the early processes of the socialisation of girls and boys, together with existing gender stereotypes. Other reasons are related to recent developments in academia linked to work organization and structural conditions – precariousness, competitiveness, and the demand for mobility, but also to a masculinised working culture resulting in gender bias, as well as microaggressions and discrimination. In relation to recent studies showing that awareness of gender (in) equalities remains of crucial importance for structural/institutional change, the article reflects on the potential implications of the perception by physicists of the determinants of gender inequality for the implementation of gender equality policy in research organisations. Keywords:http://journals.bg.agh.edu.pl/STUDIA/2019.18.4/human.2019.18.4.13.pdfgender (in)equality awarenessgender equality measures and plansphysics; research-performing organizationsgender equality policy |
| spellingShingle | Ewa Krzaklewska Ewelina Ciaputa Paulina Sekuła Justyna Struzik WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY Studia Humanistyczne AGH gender (in)equality awareness gender equality measures and plans physics; research-performing organizations gender equality policy |
| title | WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY |
| title_full | WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY |
| title_fullStr | WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY |
| title_full_unstemmed | WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY |
| title_short | WHY DOES IT HAPPEN IN PHYSICS? OPINIONS OF EUROPEAN PHYSICISTS ON GENDER INEQUALITY |
| title_sort | why does it happen in physics opinions of european physicists on gender inequality |
| topic | gender (in)equality awareness gender equality measures and plans physics; research-performing organizations gender equality policy |
| url | http://journals.bg.agh.edu.pl/STUDIA/2019.18.4/human.2019.18.4.13.pdf |
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