Panel/Workshop:

Concurrent Session

Paper Title:

Learning From The World--- A Report On The IUPAP International Conference On Women In Physics

Date & Time:

06/09/03  11:10

Abstract:

Among science and engineering, physics is one of the fields where progress is particularly slow when it comes to women’s participation, both in the US and around the world. Women still disproportionately leave physics with each step of career advancement. Why? And how can we change the situation? These questions were the focus of the first International Conference on Women in Physics organized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) on March 2002. The conference brought together more than 300 physicists from 65 countries for three days of energizing and inspirational presentations, discussions, posters, exchanges, and informal interactions. Among many ideas generated at the conference, we discuss what we learn from the experiences brought in from many nations such as a need for transparent decision making, and family-related issues. The ideas are readily generalized to engineering and other fields where women are scarce.

Index Terms ¾ international, women in physics, transparent decision-making, career-family balance

Authors:

Dongqi Li , Argonne National Laboratory
Materials Science Division , Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 South Cass Avenue
Argonne , IL , 60439
dongqi@anl.gov

Beverly Karplus Hartline , Argonne National Laboratory
Deputy Laboratory Director , Argonne National Laboratory , 9700 South Cass Avenue
Argonne , IL , 60439
bhartline@anl.gov