Objectivity, culturelessness, and apoliticism: how cultural beliefs prevent the advancement of equity in astronomy graduate programs

Abstract

After decades of interest in promoting diversity and inclusion in the field and higher education more broadly, physics and astronomy departments in American universities remain predominantly white and male. While some STEM fields have made progress in recent years towards correcting the historic overrepresentation of white men, 75% of physics and astronomy PhDs awarded in 2019 went to this demographic that constitutes only 30% of the U.S. population, higher than chemistry, math, computer science, and engineering [1]. This work seeks to understand the barriers to creating a more diverse field by examining how its cultural beliefs can work to maintain inequity in graduate programs. In this paper, we present a subset of the results from a larger study which used the lived experiences of 12 female and gender-nonconforming students of color to understand how physics and astronomy graduate programs in American predominantly white institutions maintain equity gaps between majoritized and minoritized students. This paper focuses on the theme of equity work in departments, and how it relates to a foundational cultural belief in Western physics and astronomy: that physicists comprise an objective, cultureless, and apolitical community, impervious to social influence [2]. By contextualizing participants’ observations of attitudes, policies, and behaviors with the literature, we attempt to demonstrate a how departments can systematically prevent the advancement of equity goals, and subsequently, create negative outcomes for minoritized students. We emphasize the design of program structures as a critical point of intervention, and conclude the work with recommendations based on participant input.