What can be done when academic authorities neglect some of their staff? When the entire system turns a blind eye to gender inequality?
European and Japanese female physicists from Women for Quantum (W4Q) are tackling this issue to redefine the representation of scientists in academia. Overwhelmed by disastrous statistics1, overburdened by committees and evaluation panels, discouraged by the still significant wage gap in some countries, and aware of and witness to past actions that have yielded insufficient results, they have joined forces to create Women for Quantum.
The collective aspires to a more egalitarian, non-discriminatory, and inclusive future for the world of research. Respect, sharing, collaboration, freedom of expression, diversity: the association defends these values in its introductory manifesto. The scientists also describe their objectives:
- redistribute power by giving everyone access to financial and human resources.
- create a welcoming work environment for female scientists, thereby combating daily microaggressions, inappropriate behavior, and harassment.
- counter the gender biases that plague scientific communities.
- promote new ways of evaluating the quality of scientific work, taking greater account of research processes.
To mark the Year of Quantum Science and Technology, Women for Quantum is organizing its launch day on September 17, 2025, at the Pierre and Marie Curie campus in Paris. W4Q invites you to come and discuss and learn more with the entire community.
- In 2021, only 12% of tenured physics researchers in Germany were women. Two years earlier, the same percentage was observed in the United Kingdom. All figures are detailed in the manifesto. ↩︎