EQUS actively championed a range of initiatives and community-building efforts to better support our women and gender diverse members in 2024. Among these initiatives, the EQUS Women and Non-Binaries (WNB) group—launched in the last quarter of 2023—has grown to become an active and engaged community in 2024.
The group has a dedicated Slack channel for discussions, research opportunities and event updates, along with a mailing list for event notifications. WNB members hold regular online meetings across our nodes and have hosted several in-person meet-ups between members at our USyd and MQ nodes.
In March, members of the WNB group and collaborators organised an International Women’s Day Event—Navigating research as a woman in quantum—as part of the EQUS Seminar series, featuring a panel of women researchers and women from industry at different career stages. WNB members at a lunch meetup Image by Kerstin Beer Networking lunch for women and gender diverse members.
The group also hosted another networking event at our Annual Workshop in December 2024 to include all women and gender diverse EQUS members. A career development workshop specifically for women and gender diverse members, led by Deputy Director Sally Shrapnel, was held in early 2024. Based on its success, funding was awarded to host a larger workshop in February 2025.
In 2024, EQUS also supported several events aimed at increasing the participation of women and gender-diverse individuals in quantum physics careers. A highlight was our sponsorship of the “Physics Unboxed” event at the University of Sydney in July, led by EQUS Chief Investigator Xanthe Croot. This event encouraged Year 9/10 students to continue their studies in physics, with a focus on the HSC and beyond. Over 150 girls attended and the event featured talks from women academics, hands-on workshops, a tour of the USyd EQUS labs, and a Q&A panel session. Students were provided with a booklet after the program, which profiles women academics—including EQUS members—and their research, as well as career pathways.
Published in the 2024 EQUS Annual Report