Women in HPC – Breaking Barriers and Shaping the Future
Anna Lührs
Why aren’t there more women in the High-Performance Computing (HPC) community? This simple question led to the creation of the international organisation Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC). The members of this network are committed to greater equality, diversity and integration in the HPC community. The initiative is active at major HPC conferences, offers workshops and mentoring programmes, and aims to raise awareness in the HPC community with the slogan “Diversity creates a stronger community”. Three years ago a group at Jülich Computing Centre decided that it is time to establish a local group of WHPC – Jülich Women in HPC (JuWinHPC) – to strengthen the community of women in HPC at Forschungszentrum Jülich and to promote diversity. This talk presents the activities of JuWinHPC, from casual lunch meetings to the organisation of conference sessions, and summarises experiences gained and lessons learned striving to establish a local network of women in HPC and to increase diversity, inclusion and female visibility within the community.