The Climate for Women Graduate Students in Physics

Women are underrepresented in the field of physics. As one progresses up the academic ladder, the representation of women declines. To address the underrepresentation of women, and to pinpoint the problems women are experiencing in physics departments, a study of graduate and undergraduate students was conducted. This paper presents the findings of the study, and addresses the question of what physics departments can do to attract and retain more women in physics. The study includes site visits of physics departments as well as surveys distributed to physics students. Survey findings include: fewer females than male graduate students rated the physics department as encouraging and friendly, females reported interactions with advisors, faculty, and other students less positively than males, and more women than men chose the department climate as a reason for feeling discouraged. Based on the two sources of information, the site visits, and the survey, some recommendations for change are discussed.