"Women in Quantum" meeting unites senior physicists to address gender equity
May 9, 2023
The "Women in Quantum" workshop, held from May 1 to 4 in Illetes (Mallorca) has joined women researchers coming from all Europe and Japan and working in quantum physics topics ranging from quantum information, to foundations, and atomic, molecular, and optical systems. The event brought together 19 principal investigators to share their professional experiences and present the results of their theoretical and experimental research as well as in the private sector.
Despite efforts to encourage young girls to pursue STEM fields, and initiatives aimed at supporting female scientists, gender equity remains a significant challenge in many disciplines, including physics. Furthermore, the percentage of women physicists decreases at every career stage, and it is unclear how to promote the presence of women to senior positions, both in academia and industry. The "Women in Quantum" meeting aimed to assess the current situation of women in quantum physics and discuss solutions for achieving gender equity in the field with a focus on a senior career stage. The intense program of two full days included research presentations, discussions on personal experiences and debates towards strategies for advancing women in quantum.
The organizers Roberta Zambrini (IFISC, UIB-CSIC), Christiane Koch (Humboldt University of Berlin), and Sabrina Maniscalco (AlgorithmiQ and Helsinki University) hope that this event will serve as a catalyst for a coordinated activity towards achieving gender equity in physics and related fields.
