We are incredibly proud that the spirit of inclusiveness in our COST Action made it possible for our WG members to bring their little scientists along and stay fully engaged in the meeting. This is a remarkable example of the inclusivity we advocate for, both within our COST Action and the broader research community — advancing a research career and caring for family shouldn’t have to be a choice.

We’d love to see COST take this one step further: covering childcare costs during meetings would make participation even more accessible for researcher parents across our network. Small steps like this make a big difference in ensuring equity in science.