Women and Gender Minorities in Physics |
Links of Interest |
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In pursuit of increasing women's interest and participation in physics, I created and led a group for women and gender minorities (GMaWiP) in the Department of Physics at the University of Wisconsin. After watching the fraction of women enrolled in the graduate program fall from 20% to 10% over a period of six years, my fellow female graduate students and I collectively decided to take direct action to change the departmental institutions and culture.
During my time as leader of GMaWiP, we established a safe, constructive environment for professional development and social interactions between women at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, professorial). We started a program for undergraduate women in the department to be mentored by graduate women and postdocs. We began hosting panels and workshops for students applying to REUs, graduate school, or to fellowships, and we started hosting internal seminars for students to gain experience at presenting in a safe environment. Since I have left, the group has successfully advocated for the creation of a general graduate student council, the restructuring of the qualification exam, and a general increase in transparency between the students and the faculty. Their work has been to the benefit of all students and underrepresented students in particular. In addition to my involvement in GMaWiP, I was a member of Women of Wisconsin Strengthening Astronomy (WOWSA) in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin. I also participated in the annual event Expanding Your Horizons, a one day workshop for middle school girls to experience and engage in STEM fields. |
