The Current Situation of Women in Physics in Ireland

We present statistics on the current representation of female physics students, teachers, and researchers at secondand third-level education in the Republic of Ireland. Our findings show that girls who take physics in secondary (high) school represent less than 4% of all students who complete their secondary school studies. At third-level the situation is also grim, with some institutes reporting less than 7% female participation in physicsbased courses. We also present Institute of Physics findings on the female percentages at the different academic career levels for some of the major third-level institutes in Ireland. These show that women are underrepresented at all levels. We report on initiatives that have been launched by Science Foundation Ireland under its Women in Science and Engineering Programme. These aim to address the lack of women in the science and engineering sectors and encourage qualified women back into the academic arena.