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PHYSICAL REVIEW PHYSICS EDUCATION RESEARCH 12, 020113 (2016)
Educational pathways of Black women physicists: Stories of experiencing
and overcoming obstacles in life
Katemari Rosa
Department of Physics, Federal University of Campina Grande, Avenida Aprigio Veloso, 882, Bloco CY2,
Campina Grande, Paraíba, 58429-9000, Brazil
Felicia Moore Mensah
Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Teachers College, Columbia University,
525 West 120th Street, Box 210s, New York, New York 10027, USA
(Received 24 January 2015; published 1 August 2016)
[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.] This is an empirical study on the
underrepresentation of people of color in scientific careers. Grounded in critical race theory, the paper
examines the lived experiences of six Black women physicists and addresses obstacles faced in their career
paths and strategies used to overcome these obstacles. Data for this study were collected through
semistructured interviews and coded for emergent themes. The findings reveal that college recruitment and
funding were fundamental for these women to choose physics over other STEM fields. In addition, Black
women experience unique challenges of socialization in STEM, particularly by exclusion of study groups.
We suggest physics departments provide a more inclusive environment to support Black women in science.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020113
I. INTRODUCTION
[…] being poor, of Color, and also a woman results in
daily experiences that create a systematically different
relationship to knowledge [including its production,
comprehension, and integration] [1].
We live in a connected world where a variety of
information, practices, and values can be accessed from
across the United States and worldwide. However, in spite
of the globalization phenomenon, women of African
descent have distinct cultural experiences according to
their ethnic origins. These experiences intrinsically shape
their understanding of the world, and therefore constitute
elements that influence their images of science and
scientists. Consequently, these women relate to science
in distinct ways. The investigations on underrepresented
groups in science have received significant attention
[2–4]; however, there is still a gap in the literature related
to the success and experiences of Black women in physics.
Thus, it is necessary to understand how Black women
physicists choose and then pursue careers in the sciences.
In addition, the understanding of the life experiences of
women of color in physics in the United States can provide
valuable insights for studies of people of color in the
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and
the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.
2469-9896=16=12(2)=020113(15)
sciences in other countries [5]. This study is targeted to
physics education researcher, and those in the scientific
community in general, who are who are particularly
interested in learning about the experiences and fostering
the presence of Black women in science.
The number of Black people (men and women) receiving
bachelor degrees in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) fields has increased by 34% between
1995 and 2004 [2], which shows progress. However, the
underrepresentation of this racial and ethnic group remains
high. In 2004, while Black people were 12% of the overall
population in the United States [6], they represented only
7% of the bachelor degree recipients in science and
engineering fields in that year. The situation worsens as
the degree level increases. In the same year, Black people
were responsible for 3.3% of all masters’ and 1.9% of all
doctoral degrees awarded in science and engineering [2].
As an expected consequence of the low level of doctoral
degree production, there are very few people of African
descent occupying faculty positions [7]. Of all full-time
faculty at four-year institutions in engineering, only 4.9%
were of Black people in fall 2003, and in the same period
only 3.4% of all full-time faculty at four-year institutions in
the natural sciences were of African descent [2]. Almost ten
years later, the situation was not much different. Landivar
[8] shows that Black people were only 7% of the bachelor
degree recipients in STEM in 2011.
If we approach the underrepresentation of Black women
in STEM only in terms of gender, we find the gap persists.
Black women were 11% of all women receiving bachelor
degrees in 2010, but only 2.9% of women receiving physics
bachelor degrees in the same year [9]. Furthermore, White
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PHYS. REV. PHYS. EDUC. RES. 12, 020113 (2016)
women received 73.5% of physics bachelor degrees
awarded to women in 2010 [9]. There are 25 times more
White women than Black women in physics, but only 6
times more in total have bachelor degrees. These data show
there is an intersection of race and gender when it comes to
underrepresentation of people in science.
The only scientific field where African American women
(and women in general) are overrepresented is the biological sciences; Black women were awarded 72% of bachelor’s degrees received by Black people in biological
sciences in that same year [2]. These numbers provide a
panoramic view of the insertion of Black people in
scientific careers in the United States, but they cannot give
information about what happens at the individual level.
For an account of the struggles, perceptions, and
experiences of Black people pursuing scientific careers it
is necessary to check the qualitative research produced in
this area. We classify that research into two types according
to their approach. First, there are investigations that concentrate on the reasons of failure of people of color in the
sciences [10–13]. Second, there are works that focus on
successful cases seeking to understand their histories
[14–16]. This study focuses on the positive perspective.
Even though we recognize the relevance of revealing and
understanding the reasons that exclude Black people from
the sciences, we believe it is also important to look at the
experiences of those who have overcome the challenges in
pursuit of STEM careers. In this direction, the literature
indicates that at the individual level strong precollege
science experiences, family support, teacher encouragement, intrinsic motivation, and perseverance serve as
critical factors for the success of people of color in
scientific programs [17–19]. Adding to that body of work,
this study focuses on successful cases of Black women in
physics. We examine the lived experiences of six Black
women physicists. Looking at their educational trajectories,
we aim to answer the following questions: what are the
obstacles they identify along their career paths, and what
are the strategies they use to overcome these obstacles?
II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Critical race theory
In this section, we present critical race theory (CRT) as
our theoretical framework and introduce three of its key
elements, the permanence of racism, counterstorytelling,
and interest convergence. Then we discuss CRT connections with education and science education. We do not
intend to provide an extensive discussion on the fundamentals of CRT, but to show components from this theory
that help us make sense of the data in terms of race relations
in the United States.
Critical race theory is a movement that started in the
1970s. It was formed primarily by scholars of color and
born out of the legal scholarship [20]. According to
Delgado [21], CRT’s starting point can be traced to the
early work of Derrick Bell and Alan Freeman, “both of
whom were deeply distressed over the slow pace of racial
reform in the United States” (p. xiii). At that time, they
argued that many of the gains of the civil rights movement
of the 1960s had been diminished, and that traditional
approaches such as marching and protesting were less
effective than they used to be [21]. They were soon
followed by other legal scholars who were concerned with
racial inequalities in the United States.
CRT has evolved over time and we cannot say there is a
common doctrine to which all CRT scholars subscribe,
but there are several defining elements that makeup this
intellectual movement [20,22]. For the purposes of this
study, however, we explore only three of these key
elements: the centrality of race and racism, interest convergence, and counterstorytelling.
The permanence of racism.—A basic insight underlying
CRT is that “racism is normal, not aberrant, in American
society” [21] (p. xiv). Delgado [21] explains that “racism is
an ingrained feature of our landscape, it looks ordinary and
natural to persons in the culture” (p. xiv), and argues that
equal opportunity programs can remedy cases of blatant
injustice but have little effect on the usual racism people of
color encounter every day. In other words, CRT understands racism as a structural component of society in the
United States. Racism here is understood as a system of
advantage and disadvantage based on race [23]. This
system perpetuates advantages and privileges for white
people, and disadvantages for people of color. Unlike
prejudice, which relates to preconceived notions and judgments made by individuals, racism does not rely on one
person but a set of “cultural messages and institutional
policies and practices as well as the beliefs and actions of
individuals” [23] (p. 7). The benefit of receiving these
advantages, even if not called for or even without any
prejudice involved, is understood as white privilege.
Counterstorytelling.—Another premise shared by CRT
theorists stands for the centrality of experiential knowledge
and the importance of telling the stories of people of color.
These lived experiences are told using “methods as storytelling, family histories, biographies, scenarios, parables,
cuentos, testimonios, chronicles, and narratives” [24]
(p. 26). By telling stories of people who usually do not
have their voices heard, CRT writers aim to challenge racial
oppression. These stories are called counterstories because
they are used to analyze and confront stories of those in
power [24].
Interest convergence.—Two of Bell’s essays that paved
the beginning of CRT, “Serving two masters” and “Brown
v. Board of Education and the interest convergence
dilemma,” discuss how school integration happened not
because it would be of the best interest for the education
in the Black community, but because it fitted interests of
White people [20]. Bell [25] argues black People had been
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fighting for desegregated public schools since 1850, but it
was only when “racial segregation was hampering the
United States in the Cold War with communist nations and
undermining U.S. efforts to combat subversion at home”
(p. 1056) that White legislators decided that ending
segregation was the right thing to do. Interest convergence
holds that “White elites will tolerate or encourage racial
advances for Blacks only when they also promote White
self-interest” [21] (p. xiv). Therefore, actions and policies
that benefit the Black population are only obtained when
also benefiting White people.
obstacles in their career paths and what strategies do they
use to overcome these obstacles?
In the sections that follow, we present the methods used
to collect and analyze the data, followed by the findings
with a characterization of the participants of the study.
Next, there is the discussion of the findings, or the themes
that emerged in the investigation. Last, we present implications and conclusions, and finally ideas for further
research on this topic.
1. CRT and education
A. Data collection
CRT has crossed frontiers and has been present in the
field of education since the 1990s, when it was first
introduced by Gloria Ladson-Billings and William Tate
[26]. Grounded on CRT perspectives, Ladson-Billings [27]
discusses how education constructed diversity, showing
that in the 1960s educators examined what was called
“culturally deprived or disadvantaged” children; these
children were essentially not White and middle class. In
the 1980s, there was the discourse of teaching students
“at-risk,” mostly because of the report A Nation at Risk that
was released in 1983 by the Commission on Excellence in
Education. The report stated that the entire nation was
in risk on several aspects, including education. The label
“at-risk” ended up not identifying the entire nation but
only a group of children, and it “became synonymous with
being a person of color” [27] (p. 218). Ladson-Billings [27]
argues teachers refer to diverse or multicultural settings
when they actually want to refer to people of predominantly
African descent or Latino schools; the “construction of
difference” is a central discursive practice for justifying our
need to “prepare teachers for student diversity” (p. 216).
CRT in education provides a new perspective to look at
racial issues continuously present in schooling.
In science education, critical race theory is still incipient
[28]. Butler [29] talks about Black scientists who succeeded during the Jim Crow period in the United States,
and provides several classroom activities, materials, and
strategies in science education, employing CRT not only
for basic research but also to develop instructional materials. In the most recent Handbook of Research on Science
Education, Parsons [28] explicitly recommends using CRT
in the study of race and ethnicity in this field. Furthermore,
Mensah and Jackson [30] used CRT in science teacher
education, telling stories of elementary preservice teachers’
experiences. Thus, we believe critical race theory can
emerge as a potent theoretical framework to discuss race
and ethnicity in physics education, and particularly with
Black women physicists. Therefore, the articulation of
critical race theory provides us the grounding to interpret
the lived experiences of Black women physicists in this
study. It is through this lens we frame the following
questions: what do Black women physicists identify as
In order to identify Black women physicists in the United
States, we made available an online survey to gather initial
information on possible participants. We distributed the
survey link among members of professional associations
such as the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
and the American Physical Society, as well as social
networks, such as LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Facebook.
In addition, we sent the survey link directly to the scientists
that were in the NSBP Black Women Physicist database
(which includes not only their members). The purpose
of this initial survey was to gather general information
about our available population, and to use this data to select
the participants for follow-up in-depth interviews. The
survey covered, for example, questions about academic
background, ethnic affiliation, and current work status. In
addition to the survey, we recruited participants during a
NSBP conference.
In the second stage of the data collection, we selected
the participants for in-depth interviews using the following
criteria: they held a Ph.D. degree in physics, astronomy,
or related field (assessed on an individual basis); selfidentified as Black or African American; and indicated
willingness to participate in in-depth interviews. In addition, the selection of the participants was restricted to those
who had most of their education in the United States [31].
We sent an invitation to join the study to eleven women
who answered they would agree to participate in interviews. It is worth mentioning the African American women
in physics database (since 1972) lists a total of 83 African
American women with Ph.D.’s in Physics, Astronomy,
Astrophysics, Applied Physics, and Space Physics, including those that have been deceased [32]; therefore, we can
assume a total population no larger than 90 in 2015.
Although eleven scientists agreed to participate in the
interview phase of the study, we interviewed only five
of them. For various reasons, such as schedule conflict, we
did not interview the remaining six women. In the end, the
sample consisted of six women—five recruited from the
initial survey and one on the NSBP meeting site. These
six women represented a small, focused sample of Black
women in physics careers, working in diverse settings
(i.e., the government sector, and half from colleges or
III. METHODS
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universities). The sample makeup was similar to the pool
from the initial survey, where these sectors made up 46%
each of the pool. The participants’ varied in age (number of
years) from late twenties to mid fifties. We gave pseudonyms to the participants to offer some anonymity.
The primary data for the study was collected through
interviews. The interviews were audio recorded in person at
various locations across the United States, and ranged from
2 to 3 hours for each participant. One participant, Christa,
had two interviews. Her second interview was ten months
after the first encounter, and it was audio recorded via
telephone and lasted about 40 minutes. Two other participants, Allyson and Shanna, were contacted after the
interview through email for clarification on their stories.
The other interviews did not require further clarifications.
The same interview protocol, which consisted of 55 openended questions, was used for all six participants; however,
refinements for the questions were made as the interview
process continued, building upon the information that was
collected in previous interviews.
B. Data analysis
We coded the interviews and analyzed the data to allow
for emergent themes. The coding scheme that we used
derived mainly from the data as in vivo coding. We did that
by using the participants’ own words and language to
generate a code. For example, we generated the code
“summer program” from the transcripts once we noticed
this expression appeared repeatedly in the experiences of
the women participating in this study. Additionally, there
were codes that we derived from the theoretical framework.
For instance, the code “family support” derived from the
literature indicating one of the factors that influence the
number of underrepresented groups in scientific careers.
We assigned a chunk of text to a particular code. Initially
we created a code that related to the theme of the text. Then
as other parts of the transcripts showed a connection with
that theme, we coded the subsequent text and compared the
texts to check for consistency on what could represent that
theme. As an example, here we code the first time Christa
talks about a summer program:
[…] the physics teacher got this information about a
summer program called [Program] at NASA[…] that
was for minorities in science, and she said I was the only
minority she knew and she didn’t know if I was
interested, but since I was the only one, she just gave
it to me. (Christa)
Then, in the following transcript, she does not use
summer program but she makes reference to how she
spent her summers in science related programs, which we
now code as summer program: “And that was the summers
of my junior and senior years of high school, and then
the summer after my first year of college” (Christa). We
expanded the code “summer program” to incorporate the
mention REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates),
which she specifically mentioned in the transcript. This
process was continued for all the codes that were assigned
to chunks of text.
When analyzing a transcript of another participant, the
same code was applied for texts that presented the same
theme. In search of coherence between the quotes that were
assigned under the same code, we compared the texts from
different participants. For example, we cited an instance
still using the summer program, which was developed into
a code that refers to academic or research experiences
related to science undertaken during the summer, as a
special program in which the participants were funded to
develop STEM research expertise, content knowledge, or
practices.
Next, we combined codes that were related conceptually
to each other but did not refer to the same types of events,
thus creating categories. We used a multistep approach to
produce a larger category. For example, the combination
of “summer program”, “scholarships and funding”, “math
performance”, and “choice of major” led to the category
“conditions to choose physics as a career.” The personal
narratives of the physicists were used in search of emergent
themes (i.e., common trends among the transcriptions).
Using critical race theory as a guide through the analysis
process, stories were selected based on the data collected in
order to explore the emergent themes and to talk about them
through a CRT framework. The stories were developed
inductively, based on the data, and the analysis was made
checking the counterstories against the dominant narrative
available through the literature.
C. Validity, rigor, and limitations
For the coding process, we used the qualitative content
analysis software ATLAS.TI, where each interview transcript
was organized as a primary document (P-Doc). This
allowed us to effectively compare quotes from different
transcripts through constant comparisons. This process
“assists the researcher in guarding against bias, for he or
she is then challenging concepts with fresh data” [33].
Other elements of rigor used were peer debriefing [34]
with a group whose shared expertise was in critical race
theory. Group discussions helped us by identifying biases,
underlying themes, and shaping up the stories.
Finally, we mention a few limitations of this study. Given
the qualitative nature of the study and the storytelling
methodology, the number of participants is relatively small.
In addition, the positionality of the researchers influences
the data collection and our analysis of the data [35]; still, as
women of color in STEM, our analysis provides some
experiential knowledge on the topic. Another limitation of
the study relies on the limited relationship (or lack of) with
the participants, which interferes with the quality (depth
and extension) of the interviews. We tried to minimize these
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limitations with procedures such as peer debriefing,
member checking, and in-depth interviews, as described
above.
although her husband is very supportive of her work, she
recognized that it was a challenge to juggle graduate
school and marriage. Over time, the relationship with
her graduate colleagues evolved, but Allyson had challenges with them until they achieved peace. Allyson is in
her first job, working for the government, and plans to have
children in the future. As a researcher, she works on
developing science and technology for the United States
government.
Betty.—Betty holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical
engineering, and a masters and Ph.D. in physics. Betty
grew up in a large urban environment in the midwest of the
U.S. Her parents were greatly involved in activist circles,
which provided Betty an environment to engage in social
justice and Black movements that were strongly present in
her upbringing.
None of her close relatives was in a scientific field. What
brought Betty into the sciences was really her love for
mathematics. She liked multiplication tables and figuring
out the patterns of relationships between numbers. She
always studied in public schools and participated in many
after-school programs. Betty attended a top-rate quality
magnet high school in which she focused her studies on
science and mathematics and took as many honors and AP
classes she could.
After participating in a few programs that aimed to
recruit minority students for STEM disciplines, Betty
enrolled in engineering school because she was already
familiar with what she thought the profession was, and
familiar with the institution she selected. College years
were demanding, but not particularly challenging. During
graduate school at a HBCU, Betty did not have much
guidance from her advisors, but was given a lot of
responsibilities and autonomy to build a lab and run it.
She had a rare opportunity as a Ph.D. student to manage a
laboratory in every single aspect of it—to teach people to
work in the lab and give reports to the lab sponsors. Later,
Betty shifted her career with a postdoctoral fellowship
doing physics education research, followed by developing
work in policies for STEM education.
Betty married later in life. Now at this point in her career,
it is challenging to find mentors because few people do the
type of work that she does, which requires a certain level
of interdisciplinary expertise. Currently, she is a Research
Analyst doing largely qualitative analysis and getting
involved in issues of either conceptualization or quality
control for both qualitative and quantitative projects.
Christa.—Christa holds a bachelor’s and a Ph.D. degree
in physics. Christa was the daughter of a long-distance
driver who was mostly away during her childhood, so
her mother, a very creative woman, would do everything
possible to enable her children’s dreams. Christa’s mother
mostly raised her and her two brothers.
Christa was an introverted child that did not have friends
at school. She did not have a particularly stimulating
IV. FINDINGS
This section presents short stories from the life of each
physicists in the study. The stories serve to introduce the
six Black women physicists by highlighting their current
position, and then going backward to include stories of
their upbringing and educational experiences. Following
these individual case stories, we discuss obstacles the
physicists face during their trajectory, and how they overcome these obstacles.
A. Black women physicists’ profiles
Allyson.—Allyson holds a bachelor’s degree in physics
and a Ph.D. in material science and engineering. Allyson is
a first generation Ph.D. degree holder of a middle class
family from the southeastern U.S. Her parents raised their
two daughters to develop very strong mathematical and
science skills. Her father was an electrical engineer.
Growing up in the suburbs, Allyson faced early on the
differences between people of color and Whites in her
neighborhood. In her school, there was a disparity in the
number of students of color in the accelerated classes,
and even in the treatment she received from some of
her teachers. Teachers would challenge her presence in
Advanced Placement (AP) classes and not offer her the
same support they would for the White students.
Allyson grew up very involved in several extracurricular
activities such as the Girl Scouts, the Step Team (dance),
ballet, and the marching band. In addition, Allyson had
the opportunity to participate in initiatives that fostered
mathematics and science skills and targeted students of
color. She attended summer programs and got tutoring in
mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics through these
initiatives.
Allyson followed the steps of two of her cousins who
were pursuing bachelor’s degrees in the sciences at the
same Historically Black College and University (HBCU)
where Allyson did her studies. At this institution, the
students were of color but the faculty was not, and she
found that curious. Nevertheless, Allyson felt a great
support from her academic community. However, when
moving to the doctoral level, Allyson felt a great difference
from the supportive HBCU environment to the hostile
Predominantly White Institution (PWI). She did not see
many people of color, unless they were working as janitors
or on the custodian staff. Even though Allyson had a good
relationship with her advisor, who was friend of her college
advisor, she had some hard times with her male colleagues.
They could not understand why she was there and not at
home taking care of children and a husband, like their
wives. Allyson got married during her doctoral studies, and
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science experience at school, and although her science
teacher once wrote on her report card “she is not socially
engaged and probably won’t amount to anything,” she
always excelled in mathematics. In spite of financial
difficulties, Christa encountered several educational opportunities during her childhood, through summer programs
related to science, or access to free science museums.
The combination of high mathematics performances and
summer program experiences led Christa to major in
physics in college. During her undergraduate years,
Christa developed a larger social network in both the
physics department and the institutions where she did
summer research programs.
As the first member of her family to go to college, and
the first Black student in her physics department at her
undergraduate institution, Christa had a lot of pressure
to excel. This pressure, in combination with some faith
struggles, contributed to a physiological turmoil towards
the end of her degree and a consequent departure from
academia. After teaching high school physics for a while,
Christa returned to academia and completed her Ph.D. She
wanted to learn more physics and return to teaching high
school. She got married. Contrary to what she initially
envisioned for her career, she became a faculty member in a
physics department, and is currently running her own
laboratory. Christa is an Assistant Professor of physics
in the astronomy and physics department of a liberal arts
college.
Esther.—Esther is the youngest daughter of five, a wife, a
mother of four, and the grandmother of six children. Being
the youngest child of five, three girls and two boys, she was
separated from her siblings when she was two years old.
At that time, Esther’s mother passed away and the family
decided that the grandparents would take care of the
children, so the girls went under the care of her mother’s
parents, and her brothers stayed with her father’s parents.
Esther was raised in a rural area, where her grandfather
raised hogs and her grandmother worked as a cook. Her
grandmother would bring leftover food home for the hogs.
Esther’s grandparents were very involved in her school;
her grandfather was the president of the Parent-Teacher
Association (PTA) and her grandmother, being the school’s
cook.
When growing up Esther played ball, cards, and board
games. She said that her favorite toys growing up as a girl
were dolls, highlighting the gendered character of her toys
during childhood. She did not have chemistry sets or any
other toys that people would consider science related. In
fact, she cannot really relate her experiences at a young age
with science. It was just later in school that she had contact
with science classes. When Esther transitioned from a
segregated to an integrated school, her grandmother made
sure to remind her that she was a good student and she
should not feel intimidated in the new school. In mathematics class, Esther could do the calculations and answer
the problems, but she did not really know the relevancy.
She became disinterested in science, until one of her
teachers told her she was doing really great on her exams,
while her colleagues were failing their tests. Her teacher
said she would make a good physics major, and so she did,
because her teacher believed she could do it.
Esther married young and had her children while getting
her physics degree. After finishing college, she worked for
a while and then decided to spend more time with her
children. At this time she home schooled them for six years.
Then she decided they were grown; now, she wanted to be a
college professor. A college professor would need a Ph.D.
degree, so she returned to school. Graduate school was a
great experience for Esther, except for the hard work. She
has no negative remembrances of graduate school. She had
great support from her family and particularly from her
husband, who would sleep on the sofa of the lab to keep
her company. Now Esther is mostly concerned with physics
education research, and mentoring students of color,
supporting them, and making sure they know they can
be whatever they want. Currently, Esther works as an
Assistant Professor in the physics department of an HBCU.
She is the only Black woman in that department.
Jane.—Jane holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and a
Ph.D. in applied physics. Jane grew up in a lar
