On the National STEM Week (4-11 February) established by the MUR Ministry of University and Research to promote initiatives to raise awareness and stimulate interest, choice and learning of these disciplines, necessary to promote innovation and development of the sector in our country, and on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, scheduled for February 11, INFN is participating with a rich calendar of events and initiatives throughout Italy. Established in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, this day is dedicated to promoting the equal participation of women and girls in the world of science, highlighting the importance of equitable access to education, training, employment, and decision-making processes. This is a concrete commitment to inspiring and supporting new generations of female scientists, reaffirming the crucial role of women in research and innovation.
INFN’s social media channels are joining the #WomenInScience campaign, alongside other major international laboratories such as CERN. On our social media platforms – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter - starting from February 4, in conjunction also with the STEM Week promoted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) running until February 11, we will publish three interviews with our female researchers involved in the KM3NeT experiment and with the director of INFN Frascati National Laboratories, Paola Gianotti.
The celebrations will kick off on February 7 at 7:00 PM at the Kursaal Santa Lucia Theatre in Bari with the performance of “The Hidden Force: Women Scientists in Physics and History”. This play offers a unique perspective on 20th-century physics through the lives of four extraordinary female scientists: Marietta Blau, Chien-Shiung Wu, Milla Baldo Ceolin, and Vera Cooper Rubin. Pioneers in their fields, these women significantly contributed to scientific progress, despite not always receiving the recognition they deserved. During the evening, in addition to celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the 70th anniversary of CERN will also be commemorated, with speeches by Antonio Zoccoli, president of INFN, and Luciano Musa, the official representative of CERN’s Director-General.
In Cagliari, on February 11, special “Women in Science” Masterclasses will be held for around 60 high school students. Throughout the day, participants will engage in hands-on experimental activities in astrophysics, materials physics, and particle physics, immersing themselves in the world of science.
The INFN Southern National Laboratories will celebrate the day by publishing a multimedia piece on their //www.youtube.com/@eventilaboratorinazionalid5902">YouTube channel. The video will feature testimonies from female researchers working in the laboratories, aiming to raise public awareness about gender equality in science and highlight the fundamental role of women in research.
In Florence, on February 11, 2025, the INFN Section and the University of Florence will participate in the “Global Women (in Science)’s Breakfast”, dedicated to the theme “Accelerating Equity in Science”. The event, hosted at the university, will feature a talk by “feminist philosopher” Lorenzo Gasparrini, titled “The Absence in Research Produces Absent Research. Why Gender Equality is a Scientific Issue.”
At the INFN National Laboratories of Legnaro, on February 11 at 10:00 AM, a seminar titled “Gender Issues in Scientific Research” will be held by Sara Pirrone, INFN Catania Section. The event, aimed at INFN personnel, will address gender inequalities in the scientific field, analyzing their causes, societal and scientific consequences, and proposing solutions to overcome these barriers.
In Perugia, on February 11, in collaboration with the Department of Physics and Geology of the University of Perugia, the INFN Section will organize the Physics Masterclass Girls, an event designed for high school girls. This initiative will provide students with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of experimental particle physics within the CMS experiment.
In Rome, both the INFN Section of Tor Vergata and the INFN Section of Sapienza will offer activities for young women passionate about science. The INFN Section of Tor Vergata will host the ATLAS Masterclass GIRLS, where 40 students will experience a day as researchers, analyzing data from the ATLAS experiment at CERN to study the Z boson and the Higgs boson. Meanwhile, the INFN Section at Sapienza will dedicate the entire day to activities for women in science. The morning will feature seminars by researchers from the section, along with a special meeting with PhD students in particle physics, who will share their experiences as young researchers. In the afternoon, an international Masterclass on the ATLAS experiment will take place, while the lunch break will serve as an opportunity for dialogue with a “lunch with women scientists”, where participants can interact directly with the researchers present.
The INFN National Laboratories of Frascati, in collaboration with the Rome Technopole Foundation, will celebrate February 11 with a series of interactive activities, discussions, and debates. Researchers will share their professional and personal experiences with participants, recounting both their successes and the challenges they have faced in their scientific careers.
In Trieste, at the Miela Bonawentura Theatre, the play “The Hidden Force: Women Scientists in Physics and History” will be performed again on February 11 at 6:00 PM. The event is organized by the INFN Section of Trieste in collaboration with the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.
In Cosenza, the INFN Section, in collaboration with the Department of Physics at the University of Calabria, will host a special International Physics Masterclass 2025 dedicated to the ATLAS experiment, offering young students a unique opportunity to engage with research.
To conclude the celebrations, on February 13 at 4:00 PM, in the Rostagni Lecture Hall of the University of Padua, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, in collaboration with the INFN Section, will organize the seminar “Beyond Marie: Discussing Gender Perspectives in Science.” The event will feature Edwige Pezzulli and Nastassja Cipriani, authors of the book “Beyond Marie – Gender Perspectives in Science”, which was a finalist for the 2024 Galileo Prize.
