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The Entanglement of Gender and Physics: Human Actors, Work Place Cultures, and Knowledge Production Helene Götschel

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The Entanglement of Gender and Physics: Human Actors, Work Place Cultures, and Knowledge Production Helene Götschel Science Studies 1/2011 The Entanglement of Gender and Physics: Human Actors, Work place Cultures, and Knowledge Production Helene Götschel Research in an area that might be called gender and physics lies neither in the focus of science studies nor in the centre of gender studies. However, there is a rich tradition of interdisciplinary research that studies the entanglement of gender and physics from different perspectives. In this review article, I give a survey on this inadequately discussed research area by presenting selected examples of often-cited as well as internationally less known literature. Furthermore, I propose a systematisation of three different dimensions, comprising research on human actors, work place cultures, and knowledge production in physics. In so doing, I uncover some achievements and gaps of this interdisciplinary research. Following E. F. Keller (1995), I finally plea for a trading zone for scholars working on the entanglement of gender and physics. Keywords: Gender Studies, Gender and Physics, Systematisation Introducing Three Dimensions at natural and technological sciences. The of Analysis in Regards to research areas that study natural science Gender and Physics while stressing feminist and gender issues are often summarized as Gender and The body of this paper is a systematisation Science (e.g., Keller, 1995) or as Feminist of the existing literature on gender and Science Studies (e.g., Mayberry et al., 2001; physics, introducing research on human Wyer et al., 2001). Gender and science or actors, work place cultures, and knowledge feminist science studies can be understood production in physics. In providing this as a research field that covers research review I hope to indicate some of the less on women in natural and technological obvious ways in which physics is gendered. sciences as well as analyses of feminist Furthermore, I suggest trans-disciplinary critiques of science and technology. Most research that brings together expertise from of the research done in this area, however, science studies and gender research as a is generated by interdisciplinary efforts that promising way to work on open research focus on biological sciences and information questions. First, I start with the presentation and communication technologies. First of three dimensions of analysis. attempts to analyse the entanglement of For more than three decades scholars of gender and physics where done in the different disciplines have looked critically late 1970s and early 1980s (e.g., Benckert, Science66 Studies, Vol. 24 (2011) No. 1, 66-80 Science Studies 1/2011 1983; Keller, 1977; 1979). There is now a in physics and any instructions on how flourishing literature exploring a range of to practice physics fairly and sustainable inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches, in the future (Götschel 2010: 51-52) is methods and theories in the area of critical not discussed here, because there are no physics research. The systematic analysis of case studies so far that show any impact the theories and methodologies employed on physics (Schiebinger, 2008: 20-21). is still in its infancy (Scheich, 2004) as is Furthermore, questions on gender and the the inclusion of approaches coming from pedagogy of physics, although important physics into the development of new for gender politics in physics (and beyond) theoretical and methodological concepts are not addressed in this article (e.g., (Barad, 2001; 2007). Therefore, a sensible Danielsson 2009: 24-38, Whitten/Burciaga, systematisation of feminist and gender 2000). Nor will questions of philosophy studies in physics, in my view, follows the of science be addressed, although they respective epistemological interests and the might deepen the understanding of the objects of research being examined. Taking entanglement of gender and physics from an Keller’s system ‘women in science, science epistemological perspective (e.g., Hallberg, of gender, and gender in science’ (Keller, 1992; Rolin, 2008; Rouse, 2002). Moreover, 1995) as well as Schiebinger’s system because I concentrate on research that ‘women in science, culture of science, and deals with both gender and physics from an knowledge of science’ (Schiebinger, 1999; interdisciplinary perspective, I will exclude 2008: 5) into account I suggest the following outstanding literature from science studies three dimensions of analysis in regards to scholars on physics which has not taken gender and physics: into account gender questions as well as • Human actors in physics prominent literature from gender studies • Work place cultures in physics that does not focus on physics. • Knowledge production in physics Human Actors in Physics In the following three sections I will examine these three dimensions with Statistics and biographical studies create examples of well-known studies of critical detailed knowledge in the dimension of physics research as well as some less analysis on human actors in physics. A internationally discussed work by taking selection of studies, which explore the into account literature written in English, situation of historical and contemporary German, and Swedish. Every dimension is physicists, will be discussed in this section. introduced with an example, followed by an For centuries women have not been a part overview on this area. Subsequently I draw of professional natural philosophers and conclusions on strength and weakness of physicists. Therefore women’s studies research in this particular dimension. In the researchers as well as some scientists first final section I summarize my findings and and foremost started their gender studies by suggest promising research strategies. looking at the paucity of women in the field, Although I aim to give an insight into by studying statistics and by implementing gender and science studies for researchers biographical studies of historical and in related fields, my overview is not contemporary physicists. Austrian physicist exhaustive. The ongoing debate in gender and historian of physics Brigitte Bischof studies whether gender and physics research (2003), for example, searched for female provides any indications for transformations physics students and physicists at both the 67 Science Studies 1/2011 University of Vienna and the Institute of showed that the number of university Radium Research. She discovered the names women lecturers in physics worldwide of more than one hundred female physicists had ranged from under 5% to over 30%. and indicated that between 1910 and 1945 Surprisingly, highly developed industrial seventy of these women researched for their countries—such as Japan, Canada, former doctoral theses at the Institute of Radium Western Germany, and Norway—with Research, were employed as assistants, or large physics establishments and strong worked as freelance physicists. The annual women’s rights movement, had the poorest proportion of female physicists at the records of women in physics (Barinaga, research institute was 22% and increased 1994; Megaw, 1992). Huge differences during World War I to 57%. In her study also exist across Europe. Statistics of the Bischof advances three reasons why such European Union for the year 2003 show that an extraordinary large proportion of women the percentage of female PhD graduates worked at the Radium Institute. First, like in physical science in different European spectroscopy (Tobies, 1996), radioactivity countries vary from less than 25% in Austria, was an up-and-coming branch of physics Germany, and Switzerland to more than with not yet rigidly gendered research 45% in Italy, Portugal, and Spain (European structures. Second, these women had Marie Commission, 2006: 41-42). Moreover, Curie as a role model; and numerous female statistics at a national level reveal that the employees of the Radium Institutes met the proportion of female physicists employed Nobel Prize winner at her Paris laboratory in industry, at the university, or in research in person. Third and most significantly, institutes outside the university as well as in Bischof underlines the importance of the the individual subsections of physics varies institute’s first director Stefan Meyer, who considerably in the different subareas (e. g. considered women to be capable physicists Benckert, 1997; Whitten, 1996). However, and apt professionals. Rentetzi (2004), taken on whole these recent statistics on in addition, points to the significance of women in physics tell about their current political context as well as experimental lower proportion and status at all levels culture for the participation of women in in comparison to men, at least in most radioactivity research. The national socialist industrialised countries, and asks for a dictatorship, however, often stopped the deeper understanding of the gender gap in careers of the female physicists on ground physics across countries and cultures. of Jewish background, political attitude, or Biographical studies on historical gender (Bischof, 2003). Consequently, the and contemporary physicists explore large participation of female physicists in the situation of women (and men) radium research has been faded from the working in the field. While publications collective memory. of scientists and science writers often International statistical comparisons concentrate on biographies of individual show that women appear to be in the outstanding women physicists, in order minority in physics in many Western to create role models for female science industrial countries, but their low students, historians
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