Physicists Cite Gender Bias

LONDON—More than half of the U.K. Institute of Physics's female members believe they have been discriminated against when applying for jobs. According to a survey by the Institute, many have suffered "patronizing attitudes, lack of rapport with male colleagues and chauvinistic or sexist remarks" and feel that they need to perform twice as well if they are to be considered as able as men. Of the Institute's 11,733 members, only 672 are women—but 63 percent of them completed the questi


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Of the Institute's 11,733 members, only 672 are women—but 63 percent of them completed the questionnaire. The majority of those over 45 said that attitudes toward women physicists had not improved during their careers. But the Institute, hopeful of enticing more teenaged girls into physics and keen to improve career prospects, concluded that its members surveyed "enjoyed their work enormously and had a great sense of satisfaction in their chosen careers."

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