Descrizione del progetto
Affrontare lo squilibrio di genere nella sfera della fisica
A differenza di qualche decennio fa, un numero maggiore di donne intraprende un percorso professionale nell’ambito della fisica. Tuttavia, si trovano in inferiorità numerica soprattutto nelle posizioni apicali. Tale squilibrio di genere comporta una perdita di talenti potenziali, privando inoltre il mondo della fisica del contributo intellettuale delle donne. Sono stati compiuti alcuni sforzi per abbattere gli ostacoli e rimuovere i vincoli alla partecipazione delle donne al settore, ma questi si sono rivelati per lo più di carattere generico. Grazie al sostegno del programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, il progetto INCLUDE studierà le strutture nascoste sottostanti della cultura della fisica responsabili dello squilibrio di genere. In particolare, svilupperà un quadro interdisciplinare per valutare strutture, rappresentazioni, politiche e prassi che conducono alla disparità di genere nella didattica della fisica.
Obiettivo
The discipline of physics has been grappling with the issue of gender imbalance for decades. The underrepresentation of women in physics profoundly affects the growth and future of the field by contributing to a loss of potential talent and deprives industry of the intellectual contribution of women with a physics background. Those women physicists who enter the workplace remain dramatically outnumbered especially within senior management. The persistence of this gender imbalance suggests that it is due to a combination of many factors, interacting dynamically in complex ways, necessitating holistic and integral solutions. Interventions, so far, have been generic and have focussed overwhelmingly on the micro-level (individual learner, teacher, employer, and family). The thesis of this project is that measures taken to increase representation will be effective only when they include addressing underlying hidden structures of the physics culture that contribute to the gender inequality. In order to unpack the factors that shape how physics engages with women, this work employs semi-structured, artefact-based ethnographic interviews of third-level students (physics and non-physics) and physics academic staff drawn from two institutions in culturally different environments. An interdisciplinary framework will be established to articulate structures, representations, policies and practices that contribute to the gender inequality in third-level physics education. The processes involved will identify the tangible structural changes that can be implemented. The outcomes of this work will empower physics departments internationally to move beyond generic strategies and to implement tailored action plans to address gender imbalance by on-going, collaborative self-reflexivity. These processes and outcomes are transferable to other underrepresented populations in STEM fields and careers, and hence carry academic and economic implications.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-AG-UN - HORIZON Unit GrantCoordinatore
4 Dublin
Irlanda