ÖPG
The Working Group for Equal Opportunities in Physics (AKCP) deals with all topics related to equal opportunities and gender equality in physics.
The AKCP aims to make female physicists more visible and thus counteract the stereotype that physics is a male domain. In this way, the gender gap in physics will be narrowed on the long term and the framework conditions for female physicists will be improved both at universities and in the private sector.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the AKCP at the following e-mail address: chancengleichheit@oepg.at
Chairwoman:
Andrea Navarro Quezada (University of Linz)
Vice-Chairwoman:
Verena Auer-Weiss (Middle School Eugendorf)
Active members of the working group:
Hemma Bieser (OurPower Energy Cooperative)
Ille C. Gebeshuber (TU Vienna)
Ingrid Krumphals (PH Styria)
News
05.09.2025
Patricia Palacios from the University of Salzburg has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. In the MACBeh project, physicist and phylospher is investigating the transferability of physical models to biological and social systems. The Horizon Europe funding will enable her to further develop her visionary research approaches over the next five years and build up her own international team. Patricia Palacios was featured as female physicist of the month of September 2024.
22.08.2025
As part of the ÖPG-SPG annual conference at the University of Vienna, the AKCP presented the Berta Karlik Poster Prize for young female physicists for the first time. This year's winner is Ira Morawetz from the Atomic Institute at TU Wien, Quantum Metrology Research Division (link). Ira will be featured as Physicist of the Month on the AKCP website in December.
18.08.2025
4th Women in Physics Career Symposium @OEPG-SPS Annual Meeting
Once again, there will be an AKCP symposium at the annual meeting.
This year, at the joint annual meeting of the Austrian and Swiss Physical Societies, the focus will be on ‘Career paths’. The programme has been organised jointly with the SPG Commission for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
The symposium will take place on Monday, 18 August 2025 at the University of Vienna. Participation in the symposium is free of charge!
Further information can be found in the flyer on the right and on the conference website or symposium website.
03.03.2025
To mark the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat - Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter at the Universities of Würzburg and Dresden is presenting the travelling exhibition RETHINKING PHYSICS. It shows portraits of established female researchers who talk about their enthusiasm and fascination for scientific work, their successes and goals. This is where curiosity meets the revolutionary power of quantum physics!
02.02.2025
The Women in Quantum 2025 Initiative organised together with the Equal Opportunities Group (AKC) of the DPG hast just been launched! Each week a succesful female quantum physicist will be introduced on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFlQpl5udf8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
19.01.2025
The 5th edition of the international career workshop “Women in Photonics” will take place from June 1 - 5, 2025 at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology in Jena in Germany.
14.10.2024
The daily newspaper Der Standard has published the article “Ein schwerer Aufstieg für Physikerinnen” ("A difficult climb for female physicists"), which addresses the gender publication gap in physics. Here is the link to the article (only available in german).
07.10.2024
The online medium futurezone has published an article about Francesca Ferlaino, quantum physicist at IQOQI and the University of Innsbruck (link to article). Francesca Ferlaino is a leading expert in quantum research and founded the “Atom*innen” network.
26.09.2024, AKCP Symposium in the frame of the ÖPG Annual Meeting at 14:00 hrs
At the symposium "Diversity, Equality and Inclusion" of the Working Group for Equal Opportunities in Physics (AKCP), three keynote lectures will be held on diversity in physics teaching, measures to improve equal opportunities, as well as a case report by a successful female professor.
The Symposium will be held in German. Still, we invite all physicists to participate in the symposium!
Detailed information can be obtained from the flyer on the right hand side.
27.07.2024
Physics pioneer Rosemary Fowler has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol at the age of 98. She discovered the kaon particle in 1948 and contributed to her PhD supervisor Cecil Powell being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1950. Here is the link to the Standard article (in German only).
04.07.2024
Over 30 female Quantum Professors have united to release a powerful Manifesto of Values in arXiv. They reflect on gender issues in (quantum) physics and call for change with a clear set of values.
13.06.2024
An article in Europhysics News, die Journal of the European Physical Society, on the need to increase the visibility of female physicists as role models has been published. You can read more here.
11.04.2024
The new Network atom*innen for more Women in Quantum Physics, initated by Francesca Ferlaino and colleagues at IQOQI Innsbruck, was officially presented at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna in the frame of the World Quantum Day and in the presence of Susanne Raab the Austrian Minister for Women Affairs.
27.02.2024 / 26.01.2024
The British physicist Jessica Wade is pursuing the goal of making women and people of color from the STEM field more visible by writing Wikipedia entries about them. Below are the links to two articles about her and her work: science.orf.at; Viennese weekly newspaper FALTER
02.02.2024
The Network Motherhood and Science is organizing an informal exchange for people who identify as mothers and work in science on 02.02.2024 from 09:00 - 11:00 a.m. Here is the link to the Zoom meeting. Meeting ID: 625 9362 4013; Identification code: 178178
29.01.2024
Anne L'Huillier will give an insight into her field of research in a lecture entitled "Attosecond Pulses for Studying Ultrafast Electron Dynamics" on January 29, 2024 in the Festsaal of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Here is the link to the event.
01.12.2023 - 31.01.2024
In the period from December 2023 - January 2024, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) is organizing a special exhibition on "Women at the Academy of Sciences" in honor of Berta Karlik. Admission is free, here you will find the link to the event website.
27.11.2023
At the end of November it was announced that Monika Ritsch-Marte, long-time chairwoman of the AKCP and physicist at the Medical University of Innsbruck, has been appointed as one of 12 members of the new Council for Research, Science, Innovation and Technology Development (FWIT) (source). The AKCP congratulates her warmly!
04.09.2023
As part of the joint annual meeting of the ÖPG and SPG in Basel (September 4-8, 2023), the working group for equal opportunities in physics was newly appointed. We wish the chairs Dr. Andrea Navarro-Quezada and Verena Auer a successful future!