Three years later: gender differences in the advisor’s impact on career choices in astronomy and astrophysics. (arXiv:1811.11836v1 [physics.ed-ph])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/physics/1/au:+Ivie_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Rachel Ivie</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/physics/1/au:+White_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">Susan White</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/physics/1/au:+Chu_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">Raymond Y. Chu</a>
The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS) arose from the
2003 Women in Astronomy Conference, where it was noted that a majority of young
members of the American Astronomical Society were women. The astronomy
community wishes to make every effort to retain young women in astronomy, so
they commissioned a longitudinal study to be conducted that would pinpoint the
factors that contribute to retention in general, with a focus on differences
between women and men. The LSAGS follows a cohort of people who were graduate
students in astronomy or astrophysics during 2006-07. The first survey was
conducted during 2007-08, the second during 2012-13, and the third during 2015.
The analysis presented in this paper, which is an update to our previous paper
on this topic, used a subset of the respondents, all of whom had PhDs in
astronomy, astrophysics, or a related field at the time of the third survey. We
tested the effects of four major concepts on attrition from physics and
astronomy. These concepts included: the imposter syndrome, mentoring and
advising during graduate school, the so-called “two-body problem” that occurs
when a couple needs to find two jobs in the same geographic area, and gender of
the respondent. Having a mentor in grad school did not contribute to working
outside of physics or astronomy. Showing characteristics of the imposter
syndrome and gender of the respondent had indirect effects on working outside
the field. Encouragement of the graduate advisor, the two-body problem, and
completing a postdoc, had significant direct effects on working in physics or
astronomy. This research identifies specific areas of concern that can be
addressed by the scientific community to increase the retention of all people,
but especially women, in astronomy and astrophysics.
The Longitudinal Study of Astronomy Graduate Students (LSAGS) arose from the
2003 Women in Astronomy Conference, where it was noted that a majority of young
members of the American Astronomical Society were women. The astronomy
community wishes to make every effort to retain young women in astronomy, so
they commissioned a longitudinal study to be conducted that would pinpoint the
factors that contribute to retention in general, with a focus on differences
between women and men. The LSAGS follows a cohort of people who were graduate
students in astronomy or astrophysics during 2006-07. The first survey was
conducted during 2007-08, the second during 2012-13, and the third during 2015.
The analysis presented in this paper, which is an update to our previous paper
on this topic, used a subset of the respondents, all of whom had PhDs in
astronomy, astrophysics, or a related field at the time of the third survey. We
tested the effects of four major concepts on attrition from physics and
astronomy. These concepts included: the imposter syndrome, mentoring and
advising during graduate school, the so-called “two-body problem” that occurs
when a couple needs to find two jobs in the same geographic area, and gender of
the respondent. Having a mentor in grad school did not contribute to working
outside of physics or astronomy. Showing characteristics of the imposter
syndrome and gender of the respondent had indirect effects on working outside
the field. Encouragement of the graduate advisor, the two-body problem, and
completing a postdoc, had significant direct effects on working in physics or
astronomy. This research identifies specific areas of concern that can be
addressed by the scientific community to increase the retention of all people,
but especially women, in astronomy and astrophysics.
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