How are DEI initiatives impactful for women and LGBT+ physicists: Insights from a Social Network Analysis Research

Women and LGBT+ people experience an uneven climate within the field of physics,, and numerous studies have demonstrated challenges with harassment and exclusion. This presentation will move beyond climate and focus on the use of communities to support their careers. . In this research we adopted a qualitative Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach and interviewed 100 women and/or LGBT+ physicists, who hold a Ph.D. in physics or a closely related field and currently work in an area related to their degrees. By doing this, we try to understand why and how participants stay in physics instead of why they leave. In investigating this topic, participants discussed the relevance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts in their workplace and the types of DEI initiatives they consider to impact their careers. In this presentation, we will focus on this subset of findings. We also explore the connection between the professional networks built in participants’ workplaces and what they consider to be impactful regarding DEI initiatives.