Mission and Policy Statement

The primary objectives of the Gender Bias in Physics Forum are:

1. Collect and share resources and experiences to learn about how physicists navigate difficult situations concerning gender and sexuality bias.
2. To facilitate discussion among physicists centered on the topics of gender and sexuality bias in physics in order to build a supportive community.

This website has been developed by the United States Delegation to the 6th International Conference on Women in Physics to provide a space for members of the physics community to explore the most common forms of implicit and explicit gender and sexuality bias and share effective strategies to navigate challenging situations.

We operate with the understanding that gender and sexual minorities and women are capable of excellent work in physics but that unequal social barriers prevent greater participation and recognition of physicists with these identities. Decreasing gender and sexuality bias in physics promotes a greater variety of perspectives to advance the field by enabling women and people who are gender and sexuality minorities to pursue their academic and career goals in a more inclusive and informed community.

Guidelines for Participation

1. The website is divided into public areas and areas accessible only to approved members. Public forums are intended for sharing information and resources among the broader physics community. Private forums allow registered users to report their own experiences and to provide and receive support.
2. Admission: Participants of the 6th International Conference on Women in Physics will first be invited to join this website and fill out an application. Website membership administrators will review applications and approve new members.
3. Rules of Conduct for Membership
   1. Maintain the privacy of the areas of the site that are only accessible to members. Never share text or screen captures of discussion in the private forums or entries in the database. Details shared by others must remain private but your broader learning about gender and sexuality bias in physics from the site should be carried with you.
   2. Only share your own experiences in the forum and in the database. Do not share stories about or from others.
   3. Support areas are set up solely to provide support, not debate. These are not the places for skepticism or argument or to question those who are sharing their lived experiences.
   4. Do not ask any member to speak on behalf of all others who share their identity(ies). Perspectives and experiences vary within any identity group and any community, so do not expect one voice to represent a larger group of people.
   5. When you see other users being disrespectful or making mistakes regarding the internationality or intersectionality of the website, either let them know how their activities are impacting you or let a moderator know so the moderator can provide a warning or remove the problem comments. If you are notified that you are causing problems, apologize and change your behavior on the site.
   6. Apologize for negative consequences of your participation on this site, including instances when the impact was unintended.
4. Removal: Members who break rules or contribute to a hostile atmosphere on the site will have their access revoked; they will no longer be able to post on the site or read parts of the site that are private only to members.
5. Reporting: To report a problem with the website or with a post, send an email to physicsgenderbias@gmail.com. A moderator will respond to your email.

Participation on this site is subject to the Privacy Policy. We do not guarantee confidentiality or privacy.  Future research on gender bias in physics may utilize the data collected on this website. Experts selected by the United States Delegation will focus on identifying effective strategies and responses to experiences of bias from the information shared in the database.