Perceptions of women in science

[wanderingalbatross]

I was pointed at this article earlier:

www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/what-male-and-female-scientists-say-about-women-in

It's about how both male and female biologists/physicists see women in the two disciplines, and why they think more women go for biology than physics. Sadly, many of the men surveyed seemed to think that women just weren't as good at the maths as the men, hence fewer women in physics. And the more advanced in their career, the more women cited discrimination as a barrier to women succeeding in physics.

It depresses me that people still think like this :( I work in 'hardcore' science and no-one has ever suggested to me that women aren't as good at maths as men. I wonder if women in science are sometimes just seen as the exception?

What do you think of the study?

just about to read it now (i work in science communication) - but wanted to say i studied maths and physics at uni. i was one of 5 girls out of 50 honors physics students but maths was between 1/3 and 1/2 girls so i don't buy that it's the maths that puts women off physics.

This report from 2008 has a few interesting stats about physics and gender balance in the uk: www.rcuk.ac.uk/documents/reviews/physics/review.pdf

I don't think it's the maths that puts women off either, but the interesting thing about the study was that more men think the maths puts women off than women. Instead, women tended to suggest that other women were attracted to biology over physics because they felt biology was more useful to humankind and they have more of an emotional connection.

I will take a look at the physics doc, but were there any sections in particular you had in mind?

I just did a word serch on 'women' and 'female' and read those bits....