FLTR: Elisabetta Paladino, Anna Di Ciaccio, Petra Rudolf, Pas Garcia Martinez and Sara Pirrone - image credit: S. Pirrone

Author: Sara Pirrone on behalf of the SIF-CPO

The 2024 edition of the National Congress of the Italian Physics Society (SIF), which brings together around 800 Italian physicists for a whole week, was held in Bologna from 9 to 13 September. The Congress, composed of plenary plus 7 parallel sessions dedicated to different fields of physics, represents the meeting point of the scientific community, where Italian researchers, teachers and students find their common background. During the Congress, Round Tables are also organized on specific topics, and particularly this year the SIF Equal Opportunities Committee (CPO) has planned the Round Table entitled: Actions towards Equal Opportunities in European Physical Societies, moderated by Anna Di Ciaccio, member of the SIF CPO.

The invited participants were Pas García Martínez, Chair of the "Women in Physics" group of the Royal Spanish Physical Society, Elisabetta Paladino, invited as representative of "Women for Quantum", Sara Pirrone, Chair of the CPO of the Italian Physical Society and Petra Rudolf, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee (EOC) of the European Physical Society (EPS).

Pas Garcia Martinez presented the activities of the Specialised Group “Women in Physics”, created in 2002 according to the guidelines of IUPAP (International Union of Pure and Applied Physics). She presented statistics and figures on the presence of women and men in physics in Spanish universities, as well as projects and initiatives to improve the balance. Among them: the organization of biennial conferences "Women in Physics", where only women can be speakers; the organization of webinars on different related topics; a calendar dedicated to women scientists; the application of the "Women in Physics" program, and of the Equity Plan actions against sexism and violence.

Elisabetta Paladino, presented the "Manifesto of Values" written and supported by the international group W4Q (Women for Quantum), composed of more than 200 women senior professors in the broad field of quantum physics. The W4Q Manifesto of Values aims to make the quantum scientific community aware that despite "social policies" (i.e. regional, national, and EU initiatives) in the field of gender equality, in many cases the change is only symbolic. The aim is to achieve real change, to question the way research (quantum) is currently conducted, and to open a dialogue for change.

Sara Pirrone presented figures and statistics on the gender balance in academia and research organizations in Italy and summarised the main actions carried out by the CPO-SIF from 2017 to date, dedicated to concrete support for gender equality. Among them: the organization of dedicated facilities for childcare offered during the Annual National Congress; the creation, since 2020, of the annual "Laura Bassi" award to promote the talent of women in physics; the realization of the SIF Gender Budget report, analysing data from the Annual Congress since 2010, showing the presence of women in different roles (chair, invited speaker, section president).

Petra Rudolf illustrated the actions of the EOC of EPS, as The Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics; The Code of Conduct for EPS conferences; Round tables, seminars, and workshops on career and gender issues and how to face harassment. She presented also many ongoing actions, as well as: Cooperation with EPS Divisions & Groups, monitoring projects for Gender Fairness in Physics, increasing participation of women in committees, addressing the number of women nominations for EPS Prizes/Awards, and promoting young women and minorities. Besides, the Train-the-trainers workshop is in preparation for 2025.

After the talks, a debate was opened, and many interesting questions and comments came from the audience on different subjects. From the discussions, some points were highlighted, among these, for example, the need to continue to realize activities not only in the field of Equal Opportunity, but also to extend actions related to the inclusion of diversity, ethnicity, and, last but not least, the serious matter of harassment. Besides, the relevance of collaboration among different organizations was highlighted.