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The working group was formed by resolution of the Atlanta General Assembly. The mandate of the group is
Conferences:
Reports:
Paris, France, from March 7 to March 9, 2002. It was the first international conference held on this topic. The primary purpose of the International Conference on Women in Physics was to understand the severe under-representation of women worldwide and to develop strategies to increase their participation in physics. The conference served as an initial focal point for ongoing activities to implement the strategies developed at the conference. It is widely acknowledged that the global scientific workforce is under-utilizing a large percentage of the available talent pool. Although the situation differs widely from country to country, there is a remarkable consistency in one sobering pattern: the percentage of women in physics, physical science and engineering in all countries decreases markedly with each step up the academic ladder and with each level of promotion in industrial and government laboratories. In addition to organizing the conference, the IUPAP Working Group on Women in Physics did an international benchmarking study on issues concerning women in physics. Demographic information on education and career attainment was collected from countries in all parts of the world and was analyzed by professional statisticians. This material and the results of the discussions at the conference were published in the proceedings, and are available freely on the internet at http://www.if.ufrgs.br/~barbosa/women.html In addition to the conference, the Working Group raised funds and developed a program to award grants to women to allow them to attend international conferences and seminars. More than 30 grants were awarded in 2002 (see names at http://www.if.ufrgs.br/~barbosa/conference.html). In 2003, another group of 25 women received the grant (see link above). The third edition of this program is currently underway and an additional 25 women will be selected to receive funds. The Working Group is starting now a new program: a network of female physicists in Africa. Next August representatives of the working group and physicists from Africa are meeting for planning the activities of the network. |
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