News
Tamera is invited to give a talk at the 2023 Chemistry Education Research and Practice Gordon Research Seminar (GRS)!
Characterizing the interaction between identity and experiences of marginalized women pursuing doctoral degrees in chemistry
Tamera Jones, Rehnuma Ahmed, Elizabeth Cieza, Justin M. Pratt, and Maia Popova
Even though marginalized women are earning more doctoral degrees in chemistry than ever before, the proportion of women who complete chemistry doctorates does not reflect national population trends. Previous research has explored the experiences of marginalized women seeking chemistry doctorate degrees; according to a recent quantitative study, women pursuing chemistry doctoral degrees have more adverse experiences with their advisers and receive insufficient peer and financial support. While this study highlights the issues that marginalized women face, it does not explain why they face them or the systemic issues that underpin these experiences. A survey, or other quantitative tools, are unlikely to capture these women’s voices adequately. The purpose of our research is to capture firsthand accounts of marginalized women’s experiences pursuing doctoral degrees in chemistry. Historically marginalized domestic and international women were interviewed in semi-structured interviews to capture their identities, understand why they chose to finish or leave their chemistry doctoral program, and other experiences related to their desired support(s) while in graduate school. Multiple frameworks informed both the interview guide and the data analyses, including Intersectionality, Social and Science Identity, and the Persistence framework. A combination of deductive and inductive coding (in vivo, emotion, and value), constant comparative analysis, and thematic analysis were used to examine the data and address the interplay between participants’ identities and experiences. Results examining the relationship between marginalized women’s identities and experiences will be presented, along with preliminary implications for research advisors and graduate programs.
