Campaigning for more Marie Curies: More women means changes for physics, engineering

Data from a global survey of scientists show women physicists are just as likely as men to have access to career advancing opportunities, something that was not true 10 years ago. A flood of targeted programs, science camps, books, toys, television shows, and websites are encouraging girls to pursue STEM, and organizations are working with educational institutions at all levels to expand opportunities for young women in physics.

Notwithstanding these advances, the road ahead for female scientists in STEM certainly has its challenges. And while the number of women earning physics degrees has been increasing over time, the percentage of those degrees going to women versus men has remained the same.

Amy Sue Bix, a leading expert on the history of science and women and gender studies, will be featured in an upcoming Lyne Starling Trimble History of Science Public Lecture session on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m. Eastern in a live webcast. Her talk, Campaigning for More Marie Curies: The Movement to Expand Young Women's STEM Participation, 1950-2021, will delve into how the dramatic shift of girls and young women toward STEM occurred and how diversity will play a role in the nature and purpose of science and engineering.

She will talk about the changes in gender relations in the scientific community and escalating concern for girls' psychological well-being and personal opportunities. Bix is a professor of history at Iowa State University, director of the Consortium for Historical Studies of Technology and Science, and author of the award-winning book, "'Girls Coming to Tech!': A History of American Engineering Education for Women."

Bix is available for media interviews before and after the lecture on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. To register for the virtual lecture, fill out the registration form.

The series, sponsored by AIP Center for History of Physics, is named after Lyne Starling Trimble, who held patents for several color reproduction systems and was an innovative chemist. The series was initially endowed by Virginia Trimble, daughter of Lyne Trimble and an accomplished astronomer herself, who has published more than 900 works in astronomy, astrophysics, science history, and scientometrics.

More information:
Survey: gender-gap-in-science.org/

Provided by American Institute of Physics