1. The Dearth of Female Physics Majors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
For
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach
Physical Science Department
By
Zoe Zontos
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
April 1, 2013

2. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... iii
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... iv
Audience Scenario ........................................................................................................................................ v
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1
Background and Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 1
Sources of Data ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Scope of Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Collection of Data ......................................................................................................................................... 3
The Reality and What Women Think ....................................................................................................... 3
Family Obligations and Other Factors ...................................................................................................... 4
Other Universities .................................................................................................................................... 6
Results: Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................................................ 7
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Recommendations ................................................................................................................................... 7
References .................................................................................................................................................... 9
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................... 11
Female Student Survey .......................................................................................................................... 11
Survey Data ............................................................................................................................................ 13

3. iii
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Bachelor’s Degrees in Physics for Men/Women from 2000-2009 ................................................ 3
Figure 2. How Family Obligations Affect Physicists ...................................................................................... 5
Figure 3. The Percentage of Women in the School of Science at MIT (1985-1994) ..................................... 6

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this report is to analyze the shortage of female physics majors at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University, and what recommendations should be implemented to interest more women in
pursuing physics as a career. Physics is often seen as the toughest and most strenuous of the physical
sciences and thought of as a male-dominated field. Of approximately 5,200 students that attend Embry-
Riddle, not even 1% accounts for the physics majors that are female. This fact is a point of interest in
discovering and understanding why women generally seem to have an aversion to physics. The research
being done in this study is utilized to identify the factors that reveal the reasons why women are not as
interested in physics as well as provide recommendations for a solution to this problem. The research
for the information pertinent to this study was obtained by analyzing previous research on the topic,
reading through relevant scholarly journals, and conducting a student survey. Through the data, it was
revealed that there are indeed a number of factors (such as motherhood) that contribute to the lack of
women physicists but that the number of female physics majors is slowly increasing despite these
factors. In the future, the Physical Science Department at Embry-Riddle should look to implement the
research on these factors in order to create support or extracurricular programs that encourage more
women to pursue a career in physics as well as periodically invite female physicists to talk about their
perspectives. This work will hopefully result in the eventual increase of female physics majors and an
increase in the balance between male and female physicists in a presently male-dominated field.

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AUDIENCE SCENARIO
The primary audience for this scenario is the Physical Science Department at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University (ERAU). This report will provide an analysis of the shortage of female physics
majors at the university and what factors contribute to a lack of female interest in physics, and based on
the findings and the data that is analyzed, it will provide recommendations as to what measures the
ERAU Physical Science Department should seek to take when looking to increase the number of female
physics majors. The secondary audiences include: the Chairman of the Physical Science Department, the
Program Leaders of the Engineering Physics and Space Physics programs, ERAU physics professors, and
the Women’s Center. The actions of the targeted audience can help lead to more female interest in
physics as well as a greater balance in the unequal gender ratio currently in place.

6. 1
INTRODUCTION
Background and Purpose
The lack of women in the field of physics has frequently been a noted observation throughout
the scientific community. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have always
been thought of as male-dominated fields of expertise. The field of physics has the lowest percentage of
women in all levels of degrees worldwide (Ivie & Langer Tesfaye, 2012). This problem is likewise a
noticeable dilemma at most universities including Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. A survey
created specifically for this study indicated that only 0.52% of students make up the female physics
majors at Embry-Riddle; in other words, only 27 students represent the female physics population, thus,
making it one of the lowest percentages of females in any program at ERAU. In comparison, at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in 1994, only 0.14% of female undergraduates and
graduates were physics majors, which means only 70 students out of the total 497 physics majors (“A
Study”, 2009). Comparisons through MIT and other universities indicate this problem is not only present
at ERAU. Although the number of women that have become prominent figures in society today has
increased, the number of female physicists is still relatively low in all aspects of academia and research
alike (Ivie & Nies Ray, 2005). There are many factors that are thought to be the reasons as to why this
problem still exists in universities and the professional world. The purpose of this report is to research
the causal relationship between what causes women to stay away from physics, why there is such a
dearth of women in the field of physics, and to dismiss the notion that females are not as capable of
succeeding in physics as males are; thus, encouraging more women to pursue an interest in physics.
Sources of Data
This report obtains its information from a number of sources, both primary and secondary. The
primary source of data came from conducting a survey to question present-day female college students
at ERAU and other universities about their views on certain factors that may correlate to there being

7. 2
such a lack of women in physics. The accuracy of this survey may have slight questionability because of
its distribution through Facebook, and there is no way to determine that all the survey-takers were all
female college students. Although this inaccuracy may reflect the complete reliability of the information
gathered, the questions asked in the survey were written and directed mainly towards a female
audience. The questions asked were used to obtain general information as to what female students
think about women in STEM fields and whether they believe certain factors are to blame for the
prejudice held against women in these fields. Secondary sources came from scholarly journals from
organizations such as the American Institute of Physics, the National Science Foundation and Physics
Today and provided many points of information including tables, graphs, and percentages regarding the
change in numbers of women in physics in the United States. Articles and journals from university sites
such as Cornell Chronicle and the MIT Faculty Newsletter and other scholarly journals such as American
Scientist discuss possible factors that relate to the problem this report focuses on as well as offer the
opinions of female physicists currently facing this problem. Useful comparisons on the number of female
physics majors at different universities are also offered as well as information and statistics to support
the analysis done using the survey.
Scope of Analysis
The analysis provided throughout this research includes and is based off of correlations and
relationships showing the difference in numerical data, figures that represent the data that was
obtained from the survey and secondary sources, the factors that may contribute to the purpose of this
specific study, and results and recommendations formed from the results that could be utilized to
change this problem. Analyzing and studying the factors that cause women to refrain from studying or
pursuing physics are explored in order to offer recommendations that the Physical Science Department
at ERAU can use in order to increase the number of female physics majors that apply to the school.

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COLLECTION OF DATA
The Reality and What Women Think
Physics holds the lowest representation of women of all the sciences in the United States; 21%
of females hold the bachelor’s degrees in physics and only 17% hold the Ph.D.’s in physics (Ivie & Langer
Tesfaye, 2012). According to Burrelli, the low proportion of women in STEM fields like physics has been
researched often in books, reports, and other forms of study. Even in the 21st
century, the percentage of
women that are obtaining degrees and professorial positions in physics and other STEM fields is
continuously low (2008). When asked in a survey what major or area of study female students were
currently pursuing or interested in at ERAU and other universities, it was revealed that only 15% are
associated with physics and the other physical sciences. An unsurprising 37% of women chose physics as
the one subject they would not pick from a list provided; the second least favorite subject being
Literature and English of which 34% of women chose. Looking at Figure 1, the results of asking female
students these questions is reflected in a study done by the National Science Foundation for the
male/female ratio for number of physics bachelor’s degrees received between 2000 and 2009 (see
Figure 1).
Figure 1 - The number of bachelor's degrees in physics that were acquired between the years 2000 and 2009 for both men and
women is shown to be significantly different as reported by the National Science Foundation. (References: S&E Indicators
2012).
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Men
Women
Bachelor's Degrees in Physics for Men/Women from 2000-
Years
Number of BSDegrees in Physics

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It is shown that there is a rise in the number of females who obtained bachelor’s degrees but that it is
still a drastic difference when compared to their male colleagues. Another question in the survey
revealed that more females would prefer to pursue a science-oriented career based on their personal
interests than females that would not, and most agreed that women are indeed prejudiced against in
STEM fields. Along with these two questions, it was deduced that 68% of female students believe that
they are equally as intelligent in mathematics and science courses as men are. The data implies that
women are highly underrepresented in physics.
Family Obligations and Other Factors
When considering what the reality and what women think of physics in terms of academia and
the professional world, it is pertinent to consider what factors result in this problem. Williams and Ceci
(2012) claim that there have been “sets of factors have been offered to explain the dearth of women in
math-intensive fields: ability differences; occupational and lifestyle preferences; and sex discrimination”.
According to statistics presented by the National Science Foundation, more women who pursued
physics or physical science and engineering degrees kept their marital status as unmarried as they
progressed throughout their careers as opposed to women who are married and have children (Burelli,
2008). It has long been thought that women are not as capable as men to pursue high level physics
careers because of children and family issues becoming problematic, and thus, creating roadblocks for
women in physics. Taking a look at Figure 3, the data shows the effects of having children on both men
and women’s advancements in their careers in physics.

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How Family Obligations Affect Physicists
Figure 2 - The figure shows the percentages of how men and women progress depending on if they have children or not.
Source: Physics Today.
The data reveals that the women with children progress much slower than men with children do. These
same women are also the smallest percentage when it comes to making progress in their careers; it is
men with children who tend to advance the fastest in their careers. It can be deduced that familial
obligations play a very large and important role in the career progression of women in physics. In the
female student survey, the question of whether women believe that wanting to have a family will affect
their future careers revealed that about 27% of women believe that having children will not affect their
future pursuits in their careers whereas 59% said yes, and the remaining 15% percent were not sure. Sex
discrimination has always been present throughout STEM fields and marital status has always been one
that was held against women scientists and engineers as opposed to their male colleagues. It is stated
by Williams and Ceci (2012) “that females, starting at a young age, are more interested in careers that
involve living things--such as medicine, biology, animal science and psychology--than fields such as
computer science, mathematics, physics and engineering”. Women tend to not be as interested in STEM
fields as much as they are the biological and medicinal fields in comparison to men. This being said,
society seems to have created the stereotype that women are not as intelligent in math-intensive fields
as men are. It was also found that women are more likely to be given less strenuous and challenging

15. 6
work than men are because of having children and a family to take care of (Ivie & Langer Tesfaye, 2012).
It is, therefore, indicative that these factors generally have a large effect on women in physics.
Other Universities
On a smaller level, when making comparisons to another university’s population of women in
STEM fields to those at ERAU, it was found that the percentage at other universities, such as MIT, were
extremely low as well. The comparison shown in Figure 2 reveals that this lack of women in physics and
other STEM fields in not only at ERAU but at other universities as well.
The Percentage of Women in the School of Science at MIT (1985-1994)
Gender 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Female 22 22 21 24 23 22 22 24 24 22
Male 271 269 273 272 265 267 261 253 253 252
Grand Total 293 291 294 296 288 289 283 277 277 274
% Female 7.5% 7.6% 7.1% 8.1% 8.0% 7.6% 7.8% 8.7% 8.7% 8.0%
Figure 3. The percentage of women in MIT’s School of Science between the years of 1985-1994. (Source: MIT Faculty
Newsletter).
This data, obtained from the MIT Faculty Newsletter, reflects the dilemma that Embry-Riddle and many
universities across the country face; not enough women pursue physics degrees or physics-oriented
careers. The American Institute of Physics Statistical Research Center found that there is a list of
universities that awarded at least 40% of physics degrees to women between the years of 1999-2003.
Among the list of universities included were Jackson State University, Loyola University – New Orleans,
the University of San Francisco, and a number of others. An encouraging number, although it may be,
these universities had to have awarded only a minimum of 5 degrees to women; the number of women
actually earning physics degrees at each university was still very low (Ivie & Nies Ray, 2005). Though it is

16. 7
encouraging to see there are universities that have a higher distribution percentage of female physics
undergraduates, it is still as low as the 0.52% of female physics majors currently at ERAU. Other
universities experience the same lack of women in their physics programs.
RESULTS: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
Based on this research, although women at ERAU and other universities are less prone to pursue
physics as a career when considering the factors that inhibit women in physics and other STEM fields,
the number of women studying physics is slowly on the rise. The results of the data indicate that the
factors that cause women to stay away (including stereotypes and familial obligations, etc.) do affect the
number of women that pursue a career in physics, and they continue to be underrepresented in the
field of physics at ERAU and universities nationwide. The factor that is one of the top causations for why
women stay away from physics and many consider as the main reason women keep away from physics
is family obligations and responsibility. Supporting this claim is the 59% of female college students who
agreed in the survey that having children will affect their careers in the future. However, referring back
to Figure 1 and Figure 3, the data also concludes that the number of female physics majors generally
continues to increase, as slight as the increase may be. Given time, the future increase of women in
physics at Embry-Riddle is promising.
Recommendations
It is in the interest of the Physical Science Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
to find new ways of implementation to bring in more females that want to pursue a career in physics. It
is a problem that affects the academic and scientific world, and it is not going to fix itself (Rice, 2007).
The university should look to create programs that reach out to females in physics and other STEM
fields, and encourage them to follow their interest in whatever physical science field they choose to
pursue, whether it be physics or a different STEM field. Combining efforts with the university’s Women’s

17. 8
Center would be an effective way to reach out to women interested in studying physics as well as
women interested in studying other STEM fields. If more women are to pursue their interests in physics,
it is important that the universities they attend motivate them to do well and continue because physics
widely seen as an intimidating subject. The department should also look into having women physicists
come to the university to talk about gender bias in the physics and other physical sciences and the
hardships that women face in STEM fields. Informational sessions about women in physics, what they
can do, how they work, and how it affects their personal lives would be an excellent way to increase the
number of female physics majors. People tend to stay away from the things they do not understand or
are intimidated by; providing the right atmosphere could help Embry-Riddle significantly increase the
number of female physics majors that join the university in forthcoming years.

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REFERENCES
A Study on the Status of Women Faculty in Science at MIT. (1999). MIT Faculty Newsletter, XI(4), 1–12.
Retrieved March 1, 2013, from http://web.mit.edu/fnl/ women/women.html.
Burrelli, J. (2008, June.). Three Years of Women in S&E Faculty Positions - US National Science
Foundation (NSF). nsf.gov - National Science Foundation - US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Retrieved February 12, 2013 from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08308/.
Ivie, R., & Nies Ray , K. (2005). The American Institute of Physics -- Physics Publications and
Resources. Women in Physics and Astronomy, 2005. Retrieved February 24, 2013, from
http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/reports/women05.pdf
Ivie, R., & Tesfaye, C. (2012) Women in physics: A tale of limits. Physics Today, 65(2), 47-50.
Retrieved February 18, 2013 from
http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad/v65/i2/p47s1.
National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES)
(2012).Chapter 2. higher education in science and engineering (NSB 12-01). Retrieved
March 1, 2013 from website: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c2/c2s2.htm.
Rice, M. (2007, April 30). Shortage of women in physics. Cornell Chronicle Online. Retrieved February 10,
2013 from http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April07/women.physics.MR.html.
S&E Indicators 2012 - Chapter 2. Higher Education in Science and Engineering - Undergraduate
Education, Enrollment, and Degrees in the United States - US National Science Foundation (NSF).
(n.d.). nsf.gov - National Science Foundation - US National Science Foundation (NSF). Retrieved
February 11, 2013, from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c2/c2s2.htm#s2.

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Williams, W., & Ceci, S. (2012). When Scientists Choose Motherhood. American Scientist, 100(2), 138-
145. Retrieved February 12, 2013 from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asf&AN=71853149&site=ehot-live.

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APPENDIX
Survey (42 responses)
Ladies…what do you prefer?
What major of study are you currently pursuing/interested in?
- Physical Sciences (Math, physics, chemistry, etc.)
- Humanities (Arts, non-science, etc.)
- Medicinal (Biology, nursing, pharmacy, etc.)
- Economics, Business
- Engineering
- Other
As a female, personally, which subject would you NOT pick?
- Physics
- Math
- Literature/English
- Foreign Language
- Humanities
- Computer Class
As a female, do you want to have children?
- Yes
- No
- Maybe
Do you think having children will affect your future career?
- Yes
- No
- Not Sure
Do you think women are as good at math and science as men are?
- Yes
- No
- Not Sure
Do you believe that women are prejudiced against in science, technology, engineering, and math
fields (STEM)?
- Yes

22. 12
- No
- Not Really
- Maybe a Little
- Not Sure
Lastly…based simply on your personal interests, would you prefer a science career or a non-science
career?
- Science
- Non-science

23. 13
Survey Data
What major of study are you currently pursuing/interested in?
Physical Sciences (Math, physics, chemistry..etc.)
6 15%
Humanities (Arts, non-science..etc).
3 7%
Medicinal (Biology, nursing, pharmacy..etc.)
12 29%
Economics, Business
3 7%
Engineering
10 24%
Other
7 17%
As a female, personally, which subject would you NOT pick?
Physics
15 37%
Math
5 12%
Literature/English
14 34%
Foreign Language
1 2%
Humanities
2 5%
Computer class
4 10%
As a female, do you want to have children?
Yes
28 68%
No
10 24%
Maybe
3 7%
Do you think having children will affect your future career as a female?
Yes
24 59%
No
11 27%
Not sure
6 15%
Do you think women are as good at math and science as men are?
Yes
27 68%
No
9 23%
Not sure
4 10%

25. 14
Do you believe that women are prejudiced against in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM)?
Yes
25 61%
No
5 12%
Not really
2 5%
Maybe a little
8 20%
Not sure
1 2%
Lastly. . .based simply on your personal interests, would you prefer a science career or a non-science career?
Science
23 56%
Non-science
18 44%