EIC Additional Resources

• 2019 AIP report on the representation & participation of women in physics
• 2020 AIP report on addressing the underrepresentation of African American students in physics
• Women Among Physics and Astronomy Faculty
• African-American Participation Among Bachelors in the Physical Sciences and Engineering
• African American, Hispanic, and Native American Women among Bachelors in Physical Sciences & Engineering
• First-Year Graduate Students in Physics and Astronomy: Characteristics and Background
• Statistics on Minorities in Physics collected by APS
• Statistics on Women in Physics collected by APS
• 2016 APS report on LGBT+ Climate in Physics
• 2019 report: Exploring the workplace for LGBT+ physical scientists: A report by the Institute of Physics, Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry
  • Infographics on key findings are found here, at the bottom of the page

• Casey Miller and Keivan Stassun, "A test that fails", Nature 510, 303 (2014) doi:10.1038/nj7504-303a
• Miller et al., Typical physics Ph.D. admissions criteria limit access to underrepresented groups but fail to predict doctoral completion, Science Advances 5:eaat7550 (2019)
  • ​Presentation from October 2017 EIC event on graduate admissions

An unconscious (or “implicit”) bias is a bias or stereotype which an individual has adopted instinctively without realizing it. Often, the individual will specifically believe that they have no particular preference or opinion with respect to the issue. As a result, well-meaning individuals with an unconscious bias can nevertheless end up participating in and perpetuating systemic discriminatory practices. Regardless of our identities, we all have unconscious biases. 

• A good summary is available in this video from Ohio State University
• Betrand, M. & Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination. American Economic Review, 94(4), 991-1013 is a study in which fictitious resumes were sent in response to job advertisements.  Resumes with white sounding names received 50% more callbacks than resumes with African American sounding names.
• Goldin, C. & Rouse, C. (2000). Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of “Blind” Auditions on Female Musicians. American Economic Review, 90(4), 715-741 is an analysis of audition records from 1970-1996 of 14,000 U.S. symphony orchestra musician positions, which had been dominated by men.  After instituting blind auditions, the rates of women advancing past the preliminary screening and being hired dramatically increased.
• Schmader, T., Whitehead, J., Wysocki, V. (2007). A Linguistic Comparison of Letters of Recommendation for Male and Female Chemistry and Biochemistry Job Applicants. Sex Roles, 57(7-8), 509-514 is a study of 886 faculty position letters of recommendation that found that letters written for men focused more on ability and experience and used more standout adjectives.
• Trix, F. & Psenka, C. (2003). Exploring the Color of Glass: Letters of Recommendation for Female and Male Medical Faculty. Discourses & Society, Vol 14(2), 191-220 is a study of 300 letters of recommendation for medical faculty.  Letters for men were longer with more references to their CV, publications, patients, and colleagues.  Letters for women were shorter, had more references to their personal life, and included more doubt raisers.
• Correll, F., Benard, S., Paik, I. (2007), Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty?, American Journal of Sociology, 112 (5), 1297-1339 is a study that found that for identical applications, women who were mothers were found to be less competent and committed to work as non-mothers.  The mothers were also called back half as often, less likely to be recommended for hiring, promotion, or management and were offered lower starting salaries.  By contrast, fathers were seen as more committed to work and offered higher starting salaries.
• Materials from the March 2018 EIC event on implicit bias

Stereotype threat refers to the experience of being in a situation in which you are at risk of confirming (or being treated negatively because of) a stereotype about your racial, ethnic, gender, or cultural group. Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson first coined the term when they demonstrated that this experience could lead to underperformance by African-American students on an academic test. The effects of stereotype threat are heightened in high stakes situations, and the individual only needs to be aware that the stereotype exists but does not need to believe it in order to be affected by stereotype threat. This phenomenon is often cited as a contributing factor to race- and gender-based achievement gaps in education. 

• This short video provides an introduction to the term “stereotype threat”, and some of the research demonstrating that it can lead to underperformance of, e.g., women on math exams. 
• In the book Whistling Vivaldi: How stereotypes affect us and what we can do,  social psychologist Claude Steele discusses his research findings about stereotypes and how they can shape identity. He defines and explains “stereotype threat”, and offers solutions for mitigating its effects. 
• There are many research articles you can read about stereotype threat and its effects in education or society more broadly, but here is one of the first articles from Steele and Aronson on the subject (PDF). 
• Materials from the April 2017 EIC event on stereotype threat

“Imposter Syndrome” or “the Imposter Phenomenon” are terms coined by Clance and Imes (1978) to describe the internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. Individuals experiencing imposter syndrome often believe that they are uniquely less deserving of their success than their colleagues, attribute their success solely to luck and deception, and are often reluctant to put their work and ideas forward for fear of being discovered as a fraud. Anecdotally, imposter syndrome is widely prevalent in higher education, among faculty as well as students, and can lead talented  individuals to completely overlook their own accomplishments and underestimate their qualifications and abilities. Imposter syndrome may disproportionately affect individuals from underrepresented groups. 

• Overview of Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education
• Informal article on the impacts of Imposter Syndrome
• Imposter syndrome as a major factor affecting women in STEM
• Imposter syndrome may reduce faculty effectiveness as mentors.
• A self-test to see if you may be experiencing Imposter Syndrome
• Materials from the November 2018 EIC event  and February 2017 EIC event on imposter syndrome

Sometimes, we unintentionally say or do something to someone that reveals our unconscious biases about them. Such actions are called “microaggressions,” and even though they are often committed without malice, prolonged and repeated exposure can cause serious harm and make environments less inclusive.

• Killing Me Softly: an "interactive fiction" game that demonstrates how it feels to suffer microaggressions day after day
• University of Nebraska powerpoint slides on defining, understanding, and addressing microaggressions
• Materials from the November 2017 EIC event and the handout that we discussed in the event

Research indicates that sense of belonging and identity are important factors that affect performance and persistence in STEM, particularly for students who are members of underrepresented groups. Linked below are some examples of that research. 

• Lewis, Karyn L., et al. "Fitting in to Move Forward: Belonging, Gender, and Persistence in the Physical Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (pSTEM)." Psychology of Women Quarterly 41.4 (2017): 420-436.
• Rainey, K., Dancy, M., Mickelson, R. et al. Race and gender differences in how sense of belonging influences decisions to major in STEM. IJ STEM Ed 5, 10 (2018) doi:10.1186/s40594-018-0115-6
• Rainey, K., Dancy, M., Mickelson, R. et al. A descriptive study of race and gender differences in how instructional style and perceived professor care influence decisions to major in STEM. IJ STEM Ed 6, 6 (2019) doi:10.1186/s40594-019-0159-2
• Lewis, Karyn L., et al. “Fitting in or opting out: A review of key social-psychological factors influencing a sense of belonging for women in physics.” Physical Review Physics Education Research, 12.2 (2016): 1–10. 
• Good, C., Rattan, A., & Dweck, C. S. “Why do women opt out? Sense of belonging and women’s representation in mathematics.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102.4 (2012): 700–717.
• Seymour, Elaine, and Hunter, Anne-Barrie, "Talking about Leaving Revisited: Persistence, relocation, and loss in undergraduate STEM education," Springer (2019). 

• Casey Miller and Keivan Stassun, "A test that fails", Nature 510, 303 (2014) doi:10.1038/nj7504-303a
• Klieger, D. M., Cline, F. A., Holtzman, S. L., Minsky, J. L. and Lorenz, F. (2014), New Perspectives on the Validity of the GRE® General Test for Predicting Graduate School Grades. ETS Research Report Series, 2014: 1–62. doi:10.1002/ets2.12026
• Miller et al., Typical physics Ph.D. admissions criteria limit access to underrepresented groups but fail to predict doctoral completion, Science Advances 5:eaat7550 (2019)
• Council of Graduate Schools report "Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions"
• Sedlacek article: Why We Should Use Noncognitive Variables With Graduate and Professional Students
• Keivan Stassun et al., "The Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program: Recognizing, enlisting, and cultivating unrealized or unrecognized potential in underrepresented minority students", American Journal of Physics 79, 374 (2011); doi: 10.1119/1.3546069
• Scherr, Rachel E., Monica Plisch, Kara E. Gray, Geoff Potvin, and Theodore Hodapp. "Fixed and growth mindsets in physics graduate admissions." Physical Review Physics Education Research 13, no. 2 (2017): 020133.
• Materials from the October 2017 EIC event

Racial Colorblindness is a belief/practice of ignoring race and taking a race-neutral view of society. This has negative consequences, as described in the following resources:

• “Colorblind Ideology Is a Form of Racism,” article in Psychology Today
• “Color-Blindness Is Counterproductive,” article in The Atlantic
• Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. Book is available at the CU library.
• Materials from the February 2019 EIC event on Colorblindness.

“Intersectionality” is a construct that describes the cumulative and interdependent systems of oppression impacting people with multiple marginalized identities. The term was coined in 1989 by legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw as a way to see and understand structural systems of discrimination and inequality. 

• Crenshaw’s original paper that introduced the term: Crenshaw, Kimberle. "Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics." u. Chi. Legal f. (1989): 139.
• Kimberle Crenshaw’s ted talk describes the term “intersectionality” and why we need it 
• Vox interviewed Crenshaw about her perspective on the ways the term “intersectionality” has been taken up and (mis)used 
• Some suggestions for how you can use the idea of intersectionality in your everyday life
• Case studies in equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education: An intersectional perspective, edited by E. Sandoval-Lucero and J. B. Maes (Kendall-Hunt, Dubuque, 2019)
• Materials from the January 2020 EIC event on Intersectionality

• The Time Is Now: Systemic Changes to Increase African Americans with Bachelor's Degrees in Physics and Astronomy, a report from the AIP National Task Force to Elevate African American Representation in Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy (TEAM-UP)
• LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in Physics and Astronomy: A Best Practices Guide, a joint publication from LGBTQ+ Physicists and the AAS Committee for Sexual and Gender Minorities in Astronomy
  • Additional resources from the LGBTQ+ Physicists group 

“Growth mindset”, a term coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, refers to the belief that your qualities (e.g., intelligence) can be cultivated through effort, strategy, and help from others. In contrast, “fixed mindset” refers to the belief that these qualities are innate, fixed traits. Research shows that teaching students to have a growth mindset can benefit student learning, academic performance, and resistance to stereotype threat.

• In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck summarizes her research on growth mindset, and outlines its far-reaching implications
• Beware of a false growth mindset! In the article, “How praise became a consolation prize” the Atlantic interviews Carol Dweck about how she has seen people misunderstand her work and take up the idea of growth mindset in unproductive ways
• A resource for teachers, mentors, and parents, the Mindset Kit is a “free set of online lessons and practices designed to help you teach and foster adaptive beliefs about learning”
• Mindsetworks.com details the scientific research behind growth mindset and how to apply it in practice
• Materials from the April 2018 EIC event on growth vs. fixed mindset
• Leslie et al., Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines, Science 347 (2015) 265.
• Scherr, Rachel E., Monica Plisch, Kara E. Gray, Geoff Potvin, and Theodore Hodapp. "Fixed and growth mindsets in physics graduate admissions." Physical Review Physics Education Research 13, no. 2 (2017): 020133.
• Blackwell et al., Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention, Child Devel. 78 (2007) 246.
• Paunesku et al., Mind-Set Interventions Are a Scalable Treatment for Academic Underachievement, Psych. Sci. 26 (2015) 784.
• Aronson et al., Reducing the Effects of Stereotype Threat on African American College Students by Shaping Theories of Intelligence, J. of Exp. Soc. Psych. 38 (2002) 113.
• Good et al., Improving adolescents’ standardized test performance: An intervention to reduce the effects of stereotype threat.  J. of App. Devel. Psych. 24 (2003) 645.
• Dweck & Ehrlinger, Implicit Theories and Conflict Resolution in The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice (2006).
• Levy et al., Stereotype formation and endorsement: The role of implicit theories, J. of Personality and Social Psych., 74 (1998) 1421.

• Efforts to change graduate admissions practices
  • Fiske-Vanderbilt rubrics/website (e.g. “non-cognitive” variables)
• Faculty searches
  • CU Boulder Faculty Search Process Manual
  • Recruiting Diverse and Excellent New Faculty
  • University of Michigan STRIDE program
  • Cornell University: Best Practices in Faculty Recruitment and Hiring

The September 2017 issue of The Physics Teacher included a special collection of papers on the topic of race and physics teaching. 

• The call for papers related to race and physics teaching: Gary White, “Race and physics teaching, and the fair: A call to all physics educators for manuscripts on a rarely discussed topic,” Phys. Teach. 54, 70 (Feb. 2016). 
• Cochran, Geraldine L., and Gary D. White. "Unique voices in harmony: Call-and-response to address race and physics teaching." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 324-326.
• Daane, Abigail R., Sierra R. Decker, and Vashti Sawtelle. "Teaching about racial equity in introductory physics courses." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 328-333.
• González-Espada, Wilson J., and Rosa E. Carrasquillo. "Puerto Rico: Race, Ethnicity, Culture, and Physics Teaching." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 334-337.
• Dounas-Frazer, Dimitri R., Simone A. Hyater-Adams, and Daniel L. Reinholz. "Learning to do diversity work: A model for continued education of program organizers." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 342-346.
• Sabella, Mel S., Kristy L. Mardis, Nicolette Sanders, and Angela Little. "The Chi-Sci Scholars Program: Developing Community and Challenging Racially Inequitable Measures of Success at a Minority-Serving Institution on Chicago’s Southside." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 350-355.
• Johnson, Angela, Maria Ong, Lily T. Ko, Janet Smith, and Apriel Hodari. "Common challenges faced by women of color in physics, and actions faculty can take to minimize those challenges." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 356-360.
• Russ, Rosemary S. "Integrating Conversations About Equity in “Whose Knowledge Counts” into Science Teacher Education." The Physics Teacher 55, no. 6 (2017): 365-368.

The May 2020 issue of The Physics Teacher included a special collection of papers on the topic of sex, gender, and physics teaching. 

• Herrera, Sofia, Mohamed, Ikram A., and Daane, Abigail R., "Physics from an Underrepresented Lens: What I Wish Others Knew," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 294-296
• Doucette, Danny and Singh, Chandralekha, "Why Are There So Few Women in Physics? Reflections on the Experiences of Two Women," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 297-300
• Eickerman, Olivia and Rifkin, Moses, "The Elephant in the (Physics Class)Room: Discussing Gender Inequality in Our Class," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 301-305
• Getty, Stephen, Gosnell, Natalie, Whitten, Barbara, and Taylor, Joseph, "Supporting Inclusive Teaching in Introductory College Physics," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 312-315
• Tobin, Roger G., "Simple Steps to Promote Classroom Engagement and Inclusion: A Report from the Field," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 316-319
• Lawlor, Timothy M. and Niiler, Timothy, "Physics Textbooks from 1960–2016: A History of Gender and Racial Bias," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 320-323
• Gonsalves, Allison J. and Chestnutt, Hannah R., "Networks of Support: Investigating a Counterspace that Provides Identity Resources for Minoritized Students in Post-Secondary Physics," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 324-327
• Dickens, Danielle, Jones, Maria and Hall, Naomi, "Being a Token Black Female Faculty Member in Physics: Exploring Research on Gendered Racism, Identity Shifting as a Coping Strategy, and Inclusivity in Physics," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 335-337
• Gosling, Chris and Gonsalves, Allison J., "Lessons from Research Exploring the Underrepresentation of Women in Physics," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 342-344
• Henderson, Rachel, Sawtelle, Vashti, and Nissen, Jayson Micheal, "Gender & Self-Efficacy: A Call to Physics Educators," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 345-348
• McCullough, Laura and Esquivel, Jessica, "The International Conferences for Women in Physics," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 349-351
• Knaub, Alexis V., Maier, Steven J., and Ding, Lin, "Changing Culture and Climate to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Physics Educational Setting," The Physics Teacher 58, no. 5 (2020): 352-355

For an example of how we can create inclusive classroom environments and address equity in our physics classrooms, see this presentation and this paper on an approach used in a Modern Physics class here at CU

• Some tips for avoiding gender bias in recommendation letters
• Language Matters - Writing Effective Letters of Reference by Heather Lewandowski, Mario Borunda, and Patricia Rankin