Speaker
Description
Equal participation of highly qualified women in quantum technology has not yet been achieved. Although quantum technologies are considered key technologies and receive significant funding, women remain significantly underrepresented in related fields such as physics, computer science, and certain engineering disciplines.
Furthermore, the few women in these fields are often less visible than their male colleagues. This lack of visibility affects both visibility and recognition within the scientific community and visibility outside the academic sphere, such as the public sphere, business, politics, and the media. Visibility within the discipline manifests itself, for example, in practices of recognition and appreciation, such as the awarding of prizes, honors, invitations to give lectures, or taking on leadership positions. At the same time, it forms an important basis for visibility outside the discipline.
Research about disciplinary culture in the field of gender studies in STEM shows that implicit processes of inclusion and exclusion are at work in scientific communities. These are also evident in practices that render women (in)visible or keep them (in)visible. Ensuring that outstanding female researchers in key technologies, such as quantum technologies, are recognized does not only involve women gaining more visibility but also being recognized as worthy of such visibility by their community. Therefore, it is not enough to rely solely on individual strategies. Rather, changes to the structures and cultures of research itself are crucial.
This talk presents the initial findings of the BMFTR-funded “WomenInQuantumTech”. The research focuses on investigating the mechanisms that influence the visibility and participation of women in quantum technologies and developing strategies to improve their visibility, in collaboration with female researchers.
