Problem sets and other deterrents for women

Trefil and Swartz reply: We thank our colleagues for contributing to this important debate. Diane Grayson added an international perspective, and Manuel Bass deepened our insights into the role of problem sets in science education.

Mark Lesmeister argues that the underrepresentation of women in physics may begin before college. Regardless of whether that is true, the data in figure 2 of our article clearly show a rapid decline in female participation during the undergraduate years. That is the problem we chose to address.

Sarah Gilbert and coauthors point out that there is ample room for more research in this area, and we agree. We think, however, that studies cited in our article amply support the modest conclusions we draw. We hope that the article will help to stimulate the type of research Gilbert and coauthors think is needed.

Jeffery Winkler presents a variation on the old argument that women just don’t like physics. If that were true, we would have trouble understanding the success of fields like mathematics and chemistry in attracting women. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to consider whether there may be unnecessary deterrents to students’ staying in physics, particularly if the deterrents could be easily fixed.