Resolution for the IUPAP 25th General Assembly

Submitted by the

2nd IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics

Rio de Janeiro, 23-25 May 2005

Since the 1st IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics (Paris, March 2002), more attention has been paid to including women in physics in many countries. Although some noticeable progress has been made, much more remains to be done before physics and its use in the countries of the world can benefit fully from the ideas and efforts of women. To promote the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women of all races and nationalities in physics, the representatives of the physics communities from 42 countries assembled in Rio de Janeiro unanimously recommend the following actions to the IUPAP 25th General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa:

1. Assign to the IUPAP Liaison Committees the important role in their countries to catalyze women's participation in physics and report on progress.

2. Strongly encourage the physical societies in its member countries to share information and resources with physicists who are isolated.

3. Require organizers of the conferences it sponsors to improve their inclusion and encouragement of women, and request its member societies and other scientific unions to do the same.

4. Model exemplary institutional transparency in its policies, procedures, practices, and activities and increase the presence of women among its leadership.

5. Co-sponsor the development and encourage the use and translation of training modules on gender and race equity in physics, on physics education pedagogies and curricula, and on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women.

6. Charge the IUPAP Working Group on Women in Physics to oversee a thorough international survey of the status of women in physics in 2007, organize the 3rd International Conference on Women in Physics in 2008, and report at the 26th IUPAP General Assembly in Fall 2008.

Suggested Implementation Strategies for the Resolution to IUPAP

from the 2nd IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics

Rio de Janeiro, May 2005

1. Assign to the IUPAP Liaison Committees the important role in their countries to catalyze women's participation in physics and report on progress.: Implementation strategies include facilitating networking, promoting the participation and advancement of women, championing measures that would aid gender and racial equity and increase transparency, and reporting on the status and numbers of women in physics and physics leadership in their countries at the 2008 IUPAP General Assembly.

2. Strongly encourage the physical societies in its member countries to share information and resources with physicists who are isolated. Isolated physicists include those in developing countries, those taking a career break to raise a family, and those in minority groups which are marginalized in their country. Implementation strategies include, for example: offering discounted or waived membership fees and journal subscriptions, and providing internet-based and other networking mechanisms aimed at including and supporting these individuals in the physics community.

3. Require organizers of the conferences it sponsors to improve their inclusion and encouragement of women, and request its member societies and other scientific unions to do the same. At the very least, registration fees must be waived for recipients of IUPAP Travel Grants for Women, and organizers must report to IUPAP on the gender demographics of the program committee, invited speakers, other presenters, and attendees. Conference schedules should be "family friendly;" and organizers should be encouraged to solve the child-care problem that often prevents the participation of many women physicists, especially those with limited funds.

4. Model exemplary institutional transparency in its policies, procedures, practices, and activities and increase the presence of women among its leadership.

5. Co-sponsor the development and encourage the use and translation of training modules on gender and racial equity in physics, on physics education pedagogies and curricula, and on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women. These training modules should be designed to be easily adapted for use within different countries, and training workshops could be offered at major international conferences.

6. Charge the IUPAP Working Group on Women in Physics to oversee a thorough international survey of the status of women in physics in 2007, organize the 3rd International Conference on Women in Physics in 2008, and report at the 26th IUPAP General Assembly in Fall 2008. At the 3rd conference one goal should be to "mainstrean" the advancement of women of all races in physics by including more physics leaders, industrial physicists, funding officials, and male physicists. Special networking sessions would be beneficial, focused on subfields of physics, astronomy, and related fields.