Women in Palaeomagnetism: Rocks are the girls’ best friends

Palaeomagnetism has long been shaped by researchers who navigate remote fieldwork, complex instrumentation, and interdisciplinary scientific questions. For women in this field, these scientific challenges often intersect with gender-specific experiences, including underrepresentation in career opportunities, uneven expectations regarding physical capability, implicit biases related to field readiness, and in the worst cases even bullying and harassment. These dynamics influence not only access to field and laboratory activities, but also visibility, authorship, and leadership within the discipline. Such experiences have a profound effect on one's career path, often in ways that are quite subtle yet additive over time.

Nevertheless, women palaeomagnetists report strong sources of satisfaction: the thrill of recovering ancient geomagnetic signals, the creativity involved in integrating diverse geoscience methods, and the sense of community fostered within collaborative research environments. This contribution aims to report the experience of women in palaeomagnetism from the CIMaN-ALP palaeomagnetic laboratory in Italy, illustrating how obstacles and achievements coexist, and how supportive networks and evolving institutional practices are contributing to a more inclusive scientific community. And after all, diamonds are rocks too, even if they refuse to be magnetic!