The 2017 colloquium of the French association Femmes & Sciences (Women and Science) took place in Montpellier on November 10th and gathered 150 people. The local Femmes & Sciences group has been active in this field for three years, with 20 mentors and over 50 women graduate students and postdocs in Biology and Chemistry.

After a historical and socio-cultural presentation, Belgian, Swiss and US long-lasting mentoring schemes were analysed: the European mentoring schemes were those of the EPWS members BeWiSe and Eument-net. The Women and Physics group of the French Physical Society is realising tailor-made mentoring for young female physicists. Then mentors and mentees gave very lively testimonies of what the Montpellier programme brought them. Examples of mentoring and coaching from the private sector completed the description.

Finally representatives of the main French public research organisations explained what is done and planned on equal opportunities for women and men in their respective institutions.

This successful colloquium evidenced the strong mentoring need and request of female and male students who wish to be helped to find their path and enter at best into professional life.

Full proceedings in French will be available in a few months on the association website: www.femmesetsciences.fr