1. “The String Theory Universe”: A EU project in Physics with a
Materials,
Physics &
Nanosciences
(MPNS)
COST Action no. MP 2017
“The String Theory Universe”: A EU project in Physics with a
gender component
Participating countries: 20
A, BE, BG, CH, DE, DK, EL, ES, FR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, NL, PT, SI, SE, TR, UK
Internat. Collaboration:
ZA, CERN (CH), CL, AR, US, AU
Main objectives of the Action
Action in String Theory aimed at coordinating
fundamental forefront research exploring the role played by String Theory in Particle Physics, Cosmology and Condensed Matter
Strong commitment in gender with the ultimate goal of promoting specific actions for redressing gender imbalance in the field
Why the gender aspect
String Theory is likely to be the research field inside the so-called “hard sciences” with fewer women scientists, around 10%
As a consequence, professional interactions with women are scarce, women are often left out of decision making processes, and have more difficulties in accessing top positions
This makes the field less attractive to younger women, who perceive that String Theory is not a girl-thing, making the situation hard to improve
The Action
Project not gender biased and strictly based on scientific excellence. All world-leading European scientists (male and female) doing research in String Theory are involved
Action organized in working groups. Four are scientific and one, WG5, is devoted to gender and outreach
The first objective of WG5 has been to raise the awareness of the community about the gender problem
Discussion sessions led by women scientists and gender experts have been organized in all main scientific events held by the Action.
Next step has been to organize the “First Workshop on String Theory and Gender” (Valencia, July 2015) (follow up in preparation (Paris, June 2016)) and to attend the European Gender Summits. The aim is to learn from gender experts which specific measures can be reasonably applied to our field
Contact details
Chair of the Action Silvia Penati
Vice-Chair of the Action Yolanda Lozano
Science Officer (COST Office) Fatima Bouchama
Action Website www. cost.eu/domains_actions/mpns/Actions/MP1210
Image caption: