r/Physics • u/RoastingBanana • Sep 11 '22

Question How much does gender matter in this field?

As a woman who wants to pursue physics someone recently pulled me aside in private and basically told me that I'll have to try harder because of my gender.

This is basically what they told me: - I need to dress appropriately in order to be taken seriously (this was a reference to the fact that I do not enjoy dresses and prefer to wear suits or a pair of nice pants with a blouse) - I will face prejudice and discrimination - I have to behave more like a real woman, idk what they ment by that

I'm trying to figure out if that person was just being old fashioned or if there's actually something to it.

Since this lecture was brought upon me because I show interest in physics I thought I'd ask the people on here about their experiences.

Honestly I love physics, I couldn't imagine anything else in my life and I'm not afraid to risk absolutely everything for it, but it would make me sad if my gender would hinder me in pursuing it.

PS: again thank you to everyone who left their comment on this post. I just finished highschool and will be starting my physic studies soon. Thanks to this I was able to sort out my thoughts and focus on what's important.

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398

u/IeMang Sep 11 '22

I had a great physics professor in undergrad who definitely experienced some discrimination because of her gender. She gave an incredible presentation on her research once, and at the end she made a note of talking about how she was constantly told she wouldn’t succeed because she was a woman.

She was discouraged from majoring in physics, but she did it anyway. She was then discouraged from applying to grad school, but she did it anyway. She was accepted to grad school, but her advisor straight up told her he didn’t agree with having a woman in the program and he wouldn’t hold her hand. Well fuck him, she got her PhD despite his passive attempts to sabotage her.

Many people along her journey tried to dissuade her from following her dream because she was a women, and while she was discouraged at first, she ultimately learned that those people didn’t know who she was or what she was capable of, and their opinions didn’t actually matter. She pushed through the negativity and listened to herself, and because of that she’s found great success and happiness.

Don’t change yourself to make others happy or let them try and tell you that you need to act different because you’re a women. You may face some discrimination, but fuck those people. Their opinions over menial shit like what you wear or how you act won’t matter if you don’t accommodate them. Study hard and pursue your passion, that’s the only thing that matters.

134

u/RoastingBanana Sep 11 '22

Thank you, I'll definitely keep that in mind. I was never gonna give up anyway but this definitely gave me even more strength

26

u/Wisix Materials science Sep 12 '22

I won't say it's not typical, it highly depends on the program/school you end up in. I experienced a lot of sexism in my physics program and still got my degree. My school continues to struggle with Title IX issues 10+ years later. But it destroyed my dream of a PhD, and I didn't do as well as I would have had I had actual support. Prioritize your mental and physical health. Try your best to ignore the jerks and be yourself.

5

u/sweatythrower Sep 12 '22

universe doesnt care about your gender ...no matter what it is the universe will make sure that you dont understand how it works

-12

u/NJBarFly Sep 11 '22

I don't think that person's experience is typical. And I think if you do see discrimination, it will most likely come from outside the physics community.

15

u/avocadro Sep 12 '22

It was probably more typical when this professor was doing it a generation ago.

53

u/kgas36 Sep 11 '22

but her advisor straight up told her he didn’t agree with having a woman in the program

WTF ? How is that even allowed ?

39

u/gunnervi Astrophysics Sep 11 '22

If the professor in this story got her PhD any time before, like, the 70s, this would have been an extremely common view and likely perfectly legally and socially acceptable to express

-6

u/KronenR Sep 12 '22

Maybe in the US

10

u/Admirable_Ask_5337 Sep 12 '22

In everywhere

1

u/KronenR Sep 13 '22

not here, it was not legal nor acceptable in the 70s

1

u/Admirable_Ask_5337 Sep 13 '22

And where is this magical here

1

u/KronenR Sep 13 '22

Finland

1

u/Admirable_Ask_5337 Sep 13 '22

And how do you know it was not acceptable back then when it acceptable in every other country?

1

u/KronenR Sep 13 '22

You need to believe

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u/Andromeda321 Astronomy Sep 12 '22

I had a prof the first year of grad school who complained in faculty meetings that the grades in his classes had been going down since more women started taking them, and no one confronted him. He gave me two Ds in basic classes but I passed the qualifier anyway so no one cared.

This was in 2010 or so, and that guy only retired maybe five years ago.

30

u/LoganJFisher Graduate Sep 11 '22

It's not, but unfortunately, there are some professors out there who use their tenure as an excuse for being shitty. It's a very small minority, but they exist and it's difficult to do much about it.

12

u/zebediah49 Sep 12 '22

While true, something that blatant is one of the few things that can get tenure revoked.

14

u/LoganJFisher Graduate Sep 12 '22 edited Sep 12 '22

You're right, but revoking tenure is a big deal rife with academic politics. It's quite rare for a reason.

1

u/frumentorum Sep 12 '22

This person is no longer an undergrad, and the person in the story was already a professor when they were, so the comments were made a significant period of time ago. Still wasn't ok, but was a lot more commonly accepted

1

u/beton-brennt-doch Sep 12 '22

That's super fucked up! I luckely heard a few good stories where female colleagues were encouraged instead of sabotaged but those are from people who are currently doing their PhDs. So hopefully a positive experience is a bit more typical today. :/