Black Women in Canadian Physics and Astronomy: Self-Defining and Self-Valuing

• In Event: Women Experiences in STEM Education

Abstract

This study explores the educational experiences of three Black women who studied physics and astronomy in Canadian universities. They experienced many obstacles in response to their race, gender, and class. I explore how the process of defining and redefining emerged in response to these obstacles. Black feminist thought shapes the theory and qualitative research methods. While encounters within Canadian universities implied these women were not good enough to self-define as physicists and astronomers, each Black woman responded in different ways: one deepened her knowledge in physics-related studies, another shifted research focus, and the final woman refused deleterious labels. These findings indicate Canadian universities should acknowledge and dismantle barriers that alter Black women’s intended goals within physics and astronomy departments.

Author

• Thelma Akyea, University of Toronto