Is there really a problem?

Whether or not you believe girls and boys have the same pre-disposition toward physics*, it’s clear that there are significant societal/cultural barriers reducing the number of UK girls choosing physics. These ‘missing’ girls are deprived of the potential rewards of a physics education, and our society has a smaller pool of talent to draw from at a time that STEM skills are highly valued.

Some of the most compelling pieces of evidence that this is a cultural issue include:

• Some countries have more female than male physics and engineering students (eg in the Middle East and northern Africa)

• UK schools vary in how gender-skewed their students’ A-level choices are across a wide range of subjects (2013 study)

• An all-school (and family) multi-year intervention addressing gender stereotypes resulted in a large increase in girls taking physics A-level (2017 study)

So why don’t UK girls choose physics?

There is only one girl studying A-level physics for every three boys. Where are the other two girls? Why have they chosen different subjects?

It’s not because they aren’t capable:

• A 2019 PISA survey of 67 countries showed that boys and girls have similar aptitude in science and maths at age 15 (2019).

• The 2022 percentage of high passes (grades 7+) in physics GCSE is similar for boys (12.5%) and girls (11%).

• Girls out-perform boys in A-level physics more than in any other popular A-level subject (by average grade, 2019). The difference is equivalent to half a grade.

• Girls are more likely than boys to receive A/A* grades in A-level physics than boys (2019, pre-Covid).

• A study of over 10,000 students taking introductory physics at a US college over 12 years found that grades were “at most, weakly dependent on gender” (the main difference being that women slightly out-performed men in algebra-based mechanics).

The Institute of Physics and others have been researching this topic for many years, during a period over which there has been little improvement. It appears that the problem is largely societal, linked to girls’ feelings of inclusion.

This is perhaps supported by the experiences of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions in Australia, which achieved gender parity over a five-year period of change. They found a tipping-point at around 40% women after which they received an accelerating number of enrolments.

Some identified factors:

• A-level physics is often chosen as a step towards a specific career, but girls do not aspire to these careers (2018).

• Physics-related careers are considered (often correctly) to be male-dominated, making girls feel such careers are ‘not for them’ .

• UK girls, despite performing as well as boys in science at GCSE, were more likely than boys to say they were better at another subject (2017).

• Physics is seen as difficult and masculine, both being factors more likely to put off girls (2018, as above).

• Data from 2011 showed that 49% of maintained co-ed schools sent NO girls on to take A-level physics.

What can I do?

This is not the type of problem that can be solved by a single school visit. But every interaction we have with children and their families plays a small part in their construction of their beliefs and attitudes towards science.

So what can amateur astronomical societies do?

A great place to start is this award-winning set of short videos, developed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in partnership with the Girl Scouts. These videos about how to make your events more inclusive for girls were made specifically for amateur astronomical societies.

Here are some other ideas for things you might try:

• Include photographs and videos of female scientists/engineers.

• If you are male, consider mentioning female astronomy club members.

• Avoid using overtly masculine analogies and language.

• Talk about the collaborative nature of modern science/engineering.

• Talk about how science helps people have better lives.

• Mention that physics A-level is great for a variety of space careers, including astronomy.

Things that aren’t so helpful:

• Talking about the gender skew may reinforce girls’ feelings that astronomy is not for them.

• Drawing attention to the fact a scientist is female may communicate that you think this is an unusual/strange career path for women.

• Encouraging girls to break out of the stereotype can be counter-productive; not everyone wants to be a pioneer. Most people just want to work in a place they feel welcome and comfortable.

• Using overtly feminine analogies or references can backfire, especially if they don’t naturally fit with who you are!

* There is no evidence that girls are in any way less pre-disposed toward physics than boys. The varience in physics’ reputation as a male/female subject in different countries alone would strongly suggest that any association with masculinity is cultural.

Note: this page used to give a link to a study showing that girls in single sex schools were more likely to choose A-level physics than those in co-ed schools. This has been removed as it now looks like like this is not a gender issue after all.