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Accepted Contribution:
Researching social inequalities within physics workplace cultures as feminist scholars
Martina Erlemann
(Freie Universität Berlin)
Andrea Bossmann
(Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin)
When investigating in/exclusion processes in STEM cultures, feminist scholars often have to struggle with the prevalent norm in STEM that sound research should be apolitical and value-neutral. This is even more the case when they are members of the very STEM institution they study.
Long abstract:
Research on social inequalities in academia is positioned in between gender and diversity politics and academic research and usually situated in the social or cultural studies. In particular when investigating in/exclusion processes in STEM cultures, this is in contradiction with norms of many STEM fields that define sound research as apolitical, objective and value-neutral. This can even be more challenging when feminist researchers who set out to study in/exclusion processes in STEM, are institutionally affiliated to the very STEM institution they study. Here we present results and challenges of our ongoing project that studies workplace cultures of physics with a focus on potential in/exclusion processes due to various social dimensions and their intersections. Our case study is the very physics department we are affiliated to as feminists science studies scholars. Beyond this, we apply participatory elements that strive to empower underrepresented groups and to work towards an inclusive workplace culture at our department.