³ÉÈË´óƬ

When asked to picture a physicist, chances are many people will think of a white, male researcher – perhaps one with white hair and his tongue sticking out, like the iconic image of Albert Einstein, the most famous physicist of all time. However, universities have made significant efforts in recent decades to build a more diverse physics community, showcase this diversity beyond their campuses, and encourage women and gender-diverse students to pursue careers in the field.

Gender gaps in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) remain a significant challenge in Canada and worldwide. Following a , the Canadian Association of Physicists estimates that only 35.3 per cent of undergraduate physics students identify as women. The gap progressively increases as physicists climb the academic career ladder: women represent 28.5 per cent of master’s students, 22.9 per cent of PhD students, 20.3 per cent of full-time faculty, and only 14.8 per cent of full professors. A mere 0.6 per cent of full-time faculty identify as gender diverse.

Discussing these gaps, while sharing good scientific content and shining light on outstanding research are some of the goals of the Women+ in Physics Canada (WIPC+) Conference, to be hosted on Queen’s campus from July 22 to 25. Targeted especially at graduate students, the event aims to inspire and encourage early career researchers who identify as women and gender minorities.

The Gazette spoke to Queen’s physicists Nahee Park and Kristine Spekkens (Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy), who are leading the conference organizing committee, about the current landscape of women in physics and their expectations for WIPC+. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
 

What are some of the barriers that women and gender minorities still face in physics research?

Kristine Spekkens: Evidence shows that uncertainties in one’s career path – particularly the difficult journey between graduation and finding a permanent position – can be a barrier. For a variety of reasons that we are still discussing, women tend to opt out of that process at a higher rate than men. As a result, in Canada, physics is among the fields where women and gender minorities are most strongly underrepresented, in comparison to the gender diversity in the general population.
 

How would physics benefit from a more gender diverse research community?

Nahee Park: Talent is everywhere. If you exclude certain groups from research, you end up losing an important pool of talent. When scientists try to solve a problem, there are so many possible solutions out there. But if you only have a small, nondiverse group of people looking for solutions, the results tend to be limited, because you lack a diversity of perspectives. So, diversity benefits science itself and, of course, it benefits the people who are doing science – increasing the participation of women and gender minorities in physics also makes the field more welcoming and accessible to them.

Why has Queen’s decided to host WIPC+ 2025?

Nahee Park: We heard about the event from a colleague who attended the last conference (held at the University of Manitoba in 2023) and was excited about bringing it to Kingston. It is an interesting time to host an event like this, given the recent debates, in the international landscape and in Canada, around equity, diversity, and inclusion in science – there is absolutely a need to have these conversations. 
 

What are you most excited about for this event?

Kristine Spekkens: There will be sessions on career building and inclusivity, alongside talks that highlight research areas, from pure discovery to applied physics – this variety of topics is quite unusual within a physics conference, so we are excited about it. Importantly, because our focus is to support women and people who identify as being part of a gender minority, there will be a number of activities designed to build community and talk about issues that specifically impact women and gender minorities. One of the activities I’m excited about is 17 Rooms, where researchers will be able to reflect on how their work can help advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
 

How do you expect WIPC+ will help inspire future generations of physicists?

Nahee Park: I want to live in a society where people can pursue whatever career they want. If people are deterred to do it because a certain environment seems to be unfriendly, that's not a healthy society.

Kristine Spekkens: It is abundantly clear, both anecdotally and statistically, that representation matters. People are encouraged to pursue their passions when they see themselves in the field in which they're interested. But it remains unusual, or at least it’s not typical for women and gender-diverse students to have had the chance to interact with people in the research community that resemble them. We want to connect with graduate students – that is, the future of science and innovation in Canada – and make it clear that there is a community here and that they do belong in the field.

WIPC+2025 is accepting abstract submissions until May 2. The conference registration will open on May 9. For more information about the event, visit the website.