Should more be done to eliminate physics gender gap?

Should more be done to eliminate physics gender gap?

While progress has been made to get more girls to take science and physics as subjects at school and it has emerged that there are still only 20% of girls taking physics at GCSE, A level and into higher education.

In 2016, 1.9% of girls chose A-level physics, up from 1.6% in 2011.the gender balance at physics A-level in England’s schools has changed little in decades, with only 20% being female. But that compared with 6.5% for boys in 2016 and 44% of schools in England still send no girls at all to study the subject. The gender balance at physics A-level in England’s schools has changed little in decades, with only 20% being female.

The Institute of Physics’ report, Why Not Physics? – A Snapshot of Girls’ Uptake at A-level, found only 1.9% of girls chose A-level physics in 2016, compared with 6.5% of boys. In 2011, 1.6% of girls chose the subject, compared with 6.1% of boys. In contrast, 8% of girls and 12.3% of boys progressed to maths A-level. In subjects such as English and psychology, the trend is reversed, with far more girls than boys choosing the subjects. To help combat this, the report has made a number of suggestions including:

  • Schools should routinely monitor by gender the numbers of students progressing to physics A-level
  • They must make serious efforts to address problems where they exist and challenge gender stereotypes and unconscious biases

There is a real worry that girls being put off of taking physics subjects will lead to a major skills gap which could have dire consequences for the UK’s economy. Forecasts suggest it will take a very long time to close the gender gap in some fields, with predictions of 320 years for nursing, 280 years for computer science, 258 years for physics and 60 years for mathematics.

Should more be done to eliminate this gender gap? What can parents and schools do to encourage more interest in the subject from girls? We’d like to hear your suggestions on Facebook and Twitter.

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