Feeling adrift and disconnected during the COVID-19 pandemic, Elisa Torres Durney decided to jump headlong into one of the hottest, and most challenging, disciplines around. She took a

virtual course on quantum computing. Then a secondary-school student in Chile, Torres Durney knew little about the field, but coming from a family of engineers and artists, she felt drawn to

the opportunities that quantum computing offered to combine practicality and creativity. Over eight months, she learnt the basics from experts in academia and industry, in a course run by

the non-profit organization, Qubit by Qubit. She also started writing code to simulate quantum circuits, and later ran her own experiments on a quantum computer. ‘Quantum internet’

computing around the world. “So many people think that quantum is just for experts with a PhD, but I started at 16 years old, and I’m still here,” she says. Girls in Quantum is one of a

handful of initiatives aimed at increasing representation in quantum computing, which is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). By

targeting every step of the career path, these groups aim to broaden tomorrow’s workforce, introducing the field to a younger, more diverse audience, imparting technological know-how and

professional skills and ushering a new generation into positions of leadership. The hope is to avoid the diversity challenges that plague physics more broadly — the field has some of the

lowest representation of women and people of other marginalized identities in STEM (T. Berry and S. Mordijck _Commun. Phys._ 7, 77; 2024). “What I find really exciting about emerging

technologies like quantum computing is we have the chance to get things right early on,” says Kiera Peltz, founder and chief executive of Qubit by Qubit, who is based in the Bay Area of

California. Since its launch in 2020, the organization has introduced some 22,000 students worldwide to quantum computing, says Peltz, and more than half come from under-represented

backgrounds. “Quantum computing will most certainly impact society, and I think that makes it even more critical to have diverse voices and experiences shaping these technologies.” ‘A GLASS

CEILING FOR DIVERSITY’ Quantum computing draws on the foundational principles of quantum mechanics, a branch of physics that describes the behaviour of atomic and subatomic particles.

Scientists have leveraged these properties to build computers powered by basic units of information called qubits that can occupy two states concurrently — a phenomenon known as

superposition. These computers have different strengths compared with conventional devices that use a binary system of ones and zeros, such as the ability to evaluate a vast number of

possibilities simultaneously, and researchers are optimistic about the opportunity this affords to tackle previously intractable problems in drug development, climate science, cybersecurity

and other applications. The future is quantum: universities look to train engineers for an emerging industry Excitement over these tools — which remain, for the moment, rudimentary — is

driving renewed interest in careers in physics. US jobs in the field are expected to grow by 5% by 2032, yet only one in 54 applicants for quantum roles are women, and 80% of quantum

companies do not have a woman in a senior leadership role. Fewer data exist on other marginalized identities, but a survey published this year of some 2,500 physics students and

professionals in Canada, for example, revealed that only 1.5% of respondents identified as Black or Indigenous, 3.5% as gender diverse and 7% as having a disability (E. J. Hennessey _et al_.

Preprint at arXiv https://doi.org/m9qk; 2024). “There’s still very much a glass ceiling for diversity,” says Denise Ruffner, an independent consultant based in Pasadena, California, who

advises quantum companies on diversity practices. “I’m glad that we started early to try to break through, but it’s something that’s still there and needs to be acknowledged.” EQUIPPING THE

NEXT GENERATION The technology behind quantum computers can be daunting, and groups invested in engaging younger audiences must contend with a steep learning curve. Quantum mechanics doesn’t

relate in clear ways to daily life, so educators must get creative when teaching foundational principles. For Chris Cantwell, the founder of Quantum Realm Games, this has meant engaging

with quantum concepts through play. Cantwell, who is based in Chino Hills, California, spent years developing a version of quantum chess to join the ranks of existing games such as quantum

noughts-and-crosses and a quantum version of the popular world-building computer game, _Minecraft_. In Cantwell’s quantum chess, pieces can occupy two positions on the board — signifying

superposition — and others can become ‘entangled’, another quantum concept, to move together in predictable ways. He has begun playing it with his five-year-old son, and says the goal is not

to teach quantum theory but to create a space in which people can experience quantum phenomena for themselves. “We have to start young, and we have to start diverse, to develop a generation

with an intuitive understanding of things,” Cantwell says. “They’ll imagine uses for quantum computing that we can’t even conceive of right now.” Quantum computers: what are they good for?

Among more-conventional learning opportunities, Qubit by Qubit offers virtual courses to secondary-school students and undergraduates globally, with minimal academic prerequisites. Many

courses are days long, but others span up to two semesters and include hands-on laboratory work in partnership with academic scientists and industry leaders. Students who complete these

courses can then apply for summer internships that pair them with researchers pursuing quantum computing projects. “The biggest point of attrition” in physics, according to Shohini Ghose, a

physicist at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, “is in the period right after high school, when people are picking a potential career”. Ghose, who is also a regional chair for

women in science and engineering at Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the country’s federal funding agency, says that keeping students “invested through this

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