What Works for Women in Undergraduate Physics? Learning from Different Institutions

The participation of women in physics has increased in recent years, but the percentage of women receiving bachelor's degrees in physics is still less than half that in mathematics or chemistry. The undergraduate years have been identified as the biggest ``leak.'' With a team of women physicists, I have been studying undergraduate physics departments to learn what makes some departments female-friendly. An informal and supportive department culture is the most important factor we have identified. There are many elements that make up a female-friendly culture, and different kinds of institutions---small colleges, universities, women's colleges, and HBCUs---all have important ideas to contribute. I'll discuss what these different institutions have to tell us about recruiting and retaining women in the undergraduate physics major.