Surveying physicists. Stark differences exist for men and women in physics, according to a mammoth international survey led by the American Institute of Physics (AIP). Nearly 15 000 physicists from 130 countries participated in the survey, which asked in eight languages about education, careers, and home life.
Among the survey’s findings is that women’s careers are more likely than those of men to be negatively affected by having children; only 32% of women but 65% of men said their work or career did not change significantly because of being a parent.
Around the world, female physicists are disadvantaged in a wide range of measures of professional success—indeed, in every measure probed. Women have less office and lab space and less funding than men. They are less likely to be the editor of a journal, serve on committees for grant agencies, or give invited talks at conferences. The survey found that...
