Female professors: still a rare breed

In contrast, one British female undergraduate who was leaving physics for media studies asked Chapman how she could feel happy working in such a male-dominated subject. “Some women who are strong feminists may say you’re engaging in a male power structure. They see it as a kind of ‘sleeping with the enemy’ thing,” Chapman explains. Some female students have also raised moral objections about the subject, including the use of physics in defence and concerns about environmental issues.

Career support

For those women who do remain in physics, there can be problems trying to balance their home life with their career. “Things would change if there were more academic jobs available in physics,” says Christine Davies. “The job situation has been very bad for many years and this has made it particularly hard for women I think. They are often less able, for family reasons, to hang on in post-doc positions waiting for a job to appear.”

“Long-term postdocs, such as the research councils’ advanced fellowships, are particularly important in this regard,” she states. Davies’ advanced fellowship from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council allowed her to take two periods of maternity leave, and work part time for six months after the birth of her first child. However, many women feel strongly that childcare issues should not be seen as a problem solely for them.

“I am getting fed up with this narrow focus,” says Athene Donald. “It shouldn’t be assumed that children are only one parent’s responsibility.