Physics Together: Engaging Young Women in Physics with STEP UP

Despite increasing numbers of students graduating with physics and other STEM degrees, the percentage of women earning bachelor’s degrees in physics has stagnated at approximately 20% for the past decade. The drop in representation of women in physics occurs at the high school/college transition. Nearly half of high school physics students are young women, but only one-fifth of physics majors at college entrance are women. Thus, efforts to increase the representation of women in physics need to focus on high school, which is many students’ first and last exposure to physics. STEP UP is a nationwide community with the goal of inspiring young women to pursue physics bachelor’s degrees. We have developed two lessons for use by high school physics teachers: Careers in Physics and Women in Physics. The lessons are grounded in research on physics identity, goal orientation, career intentions, and gender. In this talk, I will give an overview of the project and present results of the pilot study conducted in Fall 2017 and the experimental study conducted in Fall 2018. Learn more about STEP UP and join the movement at http://www.STEPUPphysics.org