Equity and Access

Published in the Research School of Physics Event Horizon
Vol43 Issue11 3–7 April 2017

From the RSPE Equity and Access Committee:

We need a far more radical approach to gender equality

International Women’s Day has come and gone, leaving the annual short burst attention to “women’s issues” in its wake. So now is a good time to look at what emerged from it, and whether gender equity has stalled. 

Simone de Beauvoir famously said that women are the second sex, made and not born. Society is what makes us. The use of the term “women’s issues” indicates we are still seen as such, as our presumed concerns are not universal. Feminism should be about ensuring we have the same power as men, so the question is whether women can equally set agendas and determine what matters.

The activities around International Women’s Day did not suggest we were even on the way there. There were breakfasts to raise money, events to celebrate individual successes, and some interesting talkfests, but no political plans to implement the ideas.

For more information see here