ALLIES IN PHYSICS
Jefferson Lab, W&M connect women building careers in field
Ravn Jenkins ran up against sexism in science when she was but a youngster in middle school and her math teacher urged her not to take pre-calculus.
Not because Jenkins wasn’t smart enough, but because she would’ve been one of the few girls in the class.
Still, she persisted, and took the class, anyway.
“My mom went to bat for me,” said
Jenkins, now
21 and about to get a bachelor’s in physics at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
Jenkins also is a student organizer for the regional Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics being held this weekend at the university and at Jefferson Lab in Newport News.
At the lab, conference co-organizer and experimental physicist Latifa Elouadrhiri was surprised to hear about Jenkins’ middle school experience.
“But, you see, these things are happening at different levels,” Elouadrhiri said. “And the conversation has to happen also at different levels, with different venues.”
Despite the emphasis on STEM disciplines in schools, despite ongoing outreach by working scientists and researchers, despite educational workshops and intern-
“Essentially, just to make sure that women can really feel themselves as a physicist, and not be the minorities in the room.” Irina Novikova W&M physics professor
ships, women in the U.S. still lag far behind men in physics degrees and careers.
“We are losing people at different stages,” Elouadrhiri said.
Statistics from 1967 to 2017 from the American Physical Society show that the percentage of women earning doctorates in physics has dropped in recent years, from a high of around 21 percent in 2015 to about 17 percent in 2017.
Women earning bachelor’s degrees, though, rose from 18 percent in 2015 to 21 percent in 2017. Still, that number is lower than the all-time high of about 23 percent around 2001.
Women remain minorities in the field for multiple reasons, said lead conference organizer and William and Mary physics professor Irina Novikova.
“This is a discussion which is going on for years now,” Novikova said. “Some people cite just the cultural pressure — that in the American culture it’s not common for women to be smart, it’s not common for them to be interested in STEM disciplines. Some cite the lack of role models.
“If you could figure out ( just) one thing, this would be much easier to fight.”
Even at the college level, she said, physics departments, especially small ones, may have only one or two female majors, and perhaps one female professor. Sometimes none.
CUWiP is intended to help plug what’s called the “leaky pipeline” for women in physics and reassure them they’re not alone.
“Essentially, just to make sure that women can really feel themselves as a physicist, and not be the minorities in the room,” Novikova said.
‘Subconscious stigma’
Eleven regional CUWiP conferences are being held simultaneously around the country this weekend, with a 12th in Canada, through APS to support and encourage undergraduate women in physics and astrophysics.
The local event is funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, which funds national labs like Jefferson, and William and Mary.
About 160 undergraduates from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., are expected to attend. Nearly all are women, but with a few male undergraduates in the mix.
With far more applicants than they had room for, Novikova said organizers took a hard look at men who applied to ensure they had a good reason to be there.
“A few of them made really good cases that they want to be allies,” Novikova said. “They want to understand better what issues women in physics face.”
Allies can make a real difference, organizers say.
Jenkins is finding that a “subconscious stigma” still exists in the field, along with “more subtle putdowns.”
But, she said, “in my department and among my peers, there are so many allies for women, so many male allies, as well. So it’s not bleak, either. Just a little more work to do.”
For senior Annie Blackwell, also about to get her physics degree from William and Mary, early allies were her own parents.
“My dad was like, ‘Well, you love astronomy, you might as well go and make a career of it,’” Blackwell said. “I didn’t think at that time that it was really possible to have a career in astronomy, which is a ridiculous thought. But it’s kind of scary, looking at it from the outside, and then having to make your way in.
“And then this notorious, horrible misconception that physics is impossible — that’s completely untrue. If you go in and you work hard and you have professors who are willing to help you and students who can work with you on homework, if you’re willing to work and ask questions, it’s totally doable.”
After her middle school experience, Jenkins credits two high school physics teachers — both women — for piquing her interest in the “the puzzle of physics.”
“I really liked how, when you solve these physics problems, you have to think critically and creatively and you have to use math as a really big tool,” said Jenkins, who, like Blackwell, is minoring in math.
Broader horizon
The conference will provide speakers, panel discussions and a tour of Jefferson Lab and its particle accelerator that enables cutting-edge fundamental research probing the building blocks of matter.
It’s also hosting a job fair to expand the students’ career horizons beyond the traditional teaching route.
“We want to show that it’s OK not to be a professor,” said Novikova. “There are actually a lot more options for them.”
Women with bachelor’s degrees in physics have gone on to careers in industry, the medical field, science writing, laboratory research, even jobs on Capitol Hill.
“You can definitely find something that you love doing in science and be successful,” said Blackwell, who’s applying for graduate school. “And there’s a whole group of women that are willing to cheer you on along the way.”
Jenkins also plans to pursue a doctorate, and study quantum optics. She said the CUWiP conferences have better prepared her for what’s ahead.
“I’m sure that there will remain challenges in my career that result just from being a woman,” said Jenkins. “But there are going to be other challenges that result from being a physicist. So they’re not more daunting to me than any of the other challenges that I’m going to face.”