Physics stands out when it comes to driving women out of the discipline and out of STEM entirely

The national six-year graduation rate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is far lower than most college majors, and STEM So far, relatively little research has studied the problem of retention within physics specifically. Indeed, the problem of retention in physics is perhaps more salient than in other disciplines as physics typically has the lowest rates of representation of marginalized students among STEM disciplines. In a single institution study, we found that the one-year retention rate of women in physics was lower than all other majors at a public research university. Similarly, the fraction of women leaving physics for non-STEM majors was among the highest of all STEM disciplines. Data collected from women who left physics suggest that increased support (academic and otherwise), more positive interactions between women and their male peers and professors, and improved instruction in introductory weed-out courses would help to keep women in physics. To this end, I will discuss data showing how both evidence-based teaching practices and external support programs at this same university have improved the persistence of women in engineering and discuss related programs in physics that should be studied and replicated. I will also discuss the limits of working with institutional data and provide suggestions on how equity issues in retention should be studied within departments and universities to avoid over-simplification of the retention problem.