overview

Despite advances in other academic fields, women make up only 20 percent of PhDs awarded in physics, 10 percent of tenured professors in physics, and only 15 percent of professors in astronomy. 

In November 2016, nearly a dozen of the country’s leading scholars in physics and astronomy came to the Heising-Simons Foundation to discuss academic and career pathways for women in these fields, and what could be done to help. 

Photo of Risa Wechsler, Associate Professor of Physics, Stanford University
"I think physics is one of the most amazing things that humans do — understanding how the universe works, how our planet works, and how things around us work on all scales. It's important that the people who do this work be representative of the people in the world... We want to have a physics community that allows everybody who is interested to reach their potential. I don't think we're there now." - Risa Wechsler, Associate Professor of Physics, Stanford University
Photo of Andrea Ghez, Professor of Astrophysics, UCLA
"I care tremendously about encouraging young girls to enter science. I think that women are tremendous scientists, but the door hasn't always been open. The field benefits from having women at the table because they add diversity of thought, and we know that creativity and discovery is all about breaking our notions about how the universe works." - Andrea Ghez, Professor of Astrophysics, UCLA
Photo of Jenny Hoffman, Professor of Physics, Harvard University
"We need to take advantage of the full talent pool. Since I started, I've met many women and minorities who've had painful experiences. That shouldn't be the case. People should be able to work hard and succeed without having this clutter of other issues fogging their brains and preventing them from being as successful as their talent and hard work would warrant." - Jenny Hoffman, Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Photo of Frances Hellman, Dean of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, UC Berkeley
"It's a real privilege to get to work at a job that you love; not everybody gets to do that, and I don't take it for granted. I am committed to doing what I can to make sure that everybody has the opportunity to do work they consider important and that brings them joy, like being a physicist." - Frances Hellman, Dean of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, UC Berkeley
Photo of Nadya Mason, Professor of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"I really enjoy physics. I love my job and I love thinking about the field. I feel like we're losing a lot of people. There's tons of evidence that diversity of opinions and thoughts and backgrounds leads to better, more out-of-the-box thinking. Given the enormous problems we face as a society, we need to have more minds at work in this field. Instead, we're losing them right now for reasons that I don't think are the right ones." - Nadya Mason, Professor of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Photo of Lindsey Winslow, Assistant Professor of Physics, MIT
"'Why are we here?' 'What was there at the beginning, and what was there before the beginning?' These are big questions, and if they were easy to answer we would have done it already. What makes these questions interesting is working in a group and bringing in different perspectives." - Lindsey Winslow, Assistant Professor of Physics, MIT
Photo of Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor Emeritus and Silverman Professor of Physics, UC Berkeley
"For the good of science worldwide, but within the United States in particular, it's important that we increase the range of people who come in our field. And we can't do that if we don't have the environment where everybody feels welcomed, respected, and with a set of conditions that will enable them to fulfill their potential." - Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor Emeritus and Silverman Professor of Physics, UC Berkeley
Photo of Rachel Ivie, Director of the Statistical Research Center, American Institute of Physics
"We need to make sure that people are looking out for women's and minorities' situation in science. Women are more underrepresented in physics than in any other science field." - Rachel Ivie, Director of the Statistical Research Center, American Institute of Physics
Photo of Ted Hodapp, Director of Project Development, and Senior Adviser to Education and Diversity, American Physical Society
"I'm hopeful because, in fact, other countries have figured this out. If you go to Turkey, Italy, or Spain, there are many, many more women involved in physics... This demystifies the myth that just men can do it; clearly women can do it. Physics is a discipline that has been improving its diversity for the last 40 years. The young people who are coming into the field expect this kind of thing. The question is how do we usher it along as opposed to just wait for it to happen?" - Ted Hodapp, Director of Project Development, and Senior Adviser to Education and Diversity, American Physical Society
Photo of Cyndi Atherton, Science Program Director (pictured with Science program staff), Heising-Simons Foundation
"We are thrilled to host such a leading group of scholars. Physics and astronomy hold the keys of our universe — from the smallest to grandest scales — and society is best served when all genders tackle these questions. The Foundation is inspired to invest in opportunities that help make that happen." - Cyndi Atherton, Science Program Director (pictured with Science program staff), Heising-Simons Foundation

Photography: Stan O. / Drew Bird Photography at www.drewbirdphoto.com