How interactive workshops shape women and non-binary students’ sense of belonging in physics

At Monash University, we have begun a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of students’ experience in physics and astrophysics major units. In semester 1, 2023, students in our first-semester unit in the physics major sequence completed pre and post surveys addressing sense of belonging alongside other measures linked to retention (including physics identity, self-efficacy, and demographic factors). Among students responding to the first survey, 23.2% identified as women, 72.1% as men, and 4.7% as non-binary and other gender identities (response rate was 79% of enrolled students, students could identify as more than one gender and did not have to select a gender). 16 students participated in two interviews, one near the beginning of the semester and one near the end. Of these, eleven did not identify as men, including seven who identified as women and four who identified as non-binary or genderfluid. In the second interview, participants were asked about their sense of belonging in the interactive physics workshops and labs.