The School of Physics is involved in the following initiatives to promote women in physics:
ECU’s Athena SWAN Charter has been developed to encourage and recognise commitment to combating this underrepresentation and advancing the careers of women in STEM research and academia. It covers:
Project Juno is an Institute of Physics Initiative related to Athena Swan for Physics Departments. The aim of Juno is to recognise and reward departments that can demonstrate the implementation of best practices for their stakeholders, in particular, if they have taken action to address the under-representation of women in University Physics and to encourage better practices for both women and men. More generally Project Juno aims to develop a working culture and environment in which students and staff, men and women, can reach their full potential. Under Project Juno, University Physics Schools/Departments sign up to a Code of Practice.
There are three levels of Juno awards. TCD School of Physics has Juno Practitioner status (2014-2017).
TCD Physics runs a work experience week for transition year students (TYPE Transition Year Physics Experience). We maintain a gender balance in the TYPE programme and so 50% of TYPE places are taken by female secondary students.
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The School of Physics awards four Entrance Scholarships to first year students which are worth €750 each. These scholarships are intended to attract high-achieving students to study Physics at Trinity. Two of the scholarships are reserved for women and two are open to all students.
WiSER’s activities and practices are underpinned by the core value that scientific excellence is only achievable in an environment that supports, enables and sustains all outstanding researchers, regardless of gender, so that they can make full use of their skills and knowledge. Such an environment can create the opportunities and conditions necessary for the pursuit of world-class research which will benefit Ireland’s reputation as a centre for innovation.
The WiSER theoretical model positions all our actions under three main approaches: Tinkering, Tailoring and Transforming (see Rees, 1995*), as laid out in the following table. These equality approaches focus on legislation (tinkering), positive action (tailoring) and gender mainstreaming (transforming).
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The INTEGER Project is a FP7-funded project which aims to develop and implement Gender Action Plans in order for research and higher education institutions to create sustainable change to improve the career progression of women scientific researchers. The TCD Schools of Natural Sciences, Chemistry and Physics are TCD partners in this project.
All staff are invited to coffee in the Fitzgerald Library for First Thursday Coffee at 10.30am on the first Thursday of every month. All research staff are particularly encouraged to attend. The Women in Physics/Juno committee would suggest that researchers bring along a female researcher, not necessarily from Physics in the interests of networking amongst female researchers.
