Nobel awards 4 women in one year for the 3rd time in history – 10/16/2023 – Science

For the third time since 1901, four women have won a Nobel Prize in the same year. The other two occurrences are considerably recent: 2018 and 2020. But, to this day, 2009 remains the leader of the year with the greatest female presence at the awards, with five winners.

The award also marks the longest consecutive number of years with winners. Women have been receiving at least one award per year since 2018, that is, 2023 was the sixth consecutive year with an award.

Previously, the longest sequence was only three consecutive years with awards for women, a fact that was repeated five times in the history of the Nobel Prize.

Right away, this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine went to scientist Katalin Karikó, who shared the prize with researcher Drew Weissman. The following day, the Physics award went to Anne L’Huillier, who shared the prize with two men, Ferenc Krausz and Pierre Agostini. A few days later it was the turn of the Nobel Peace Prize to go to Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi.

Finally, the Nobel Prize in Economics went to Claudia Goldin.

Historically, there is a gap at the Nobel Prize in terms of awarding women and men.

There were 64 women laureates —Marie Curie received it twice— and 901 men (some of them also awarded twice).

Only in 1976, for the first time, more than one woman was awarded a Nobel Prize in the same year. That year, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in seeking peace in Northern Ireland.

In 2009, a record year for awards, two women shared, with a man, the Medicine degree, one received the Chemistry degree and the other the Literature degree. It was also in 2009 that the first woman won the Nobel Prize in Economics — the American Elinor Ostrom.

“This concern [sobre a quantidade de mulheres premiadas] was inside the foundation [do Nobel]”, says Helena Nader, president of ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences). “It’s a reality, but it’s not by chance. All of this is the result of society. Society has realized that it cannot continue like this.”

Nader herself ends up being an example of what she is talking about. She is the first female president of ABC, a Brazilian scientific institution with more than a hundred years of existence.

“I’m happy that more women are entering. But I’m very sad to see that it’s still very Eurocentric,” says Nader, referring to the Nobel Prize. “I see with concern the lack of looking to the south. The south is neglected.”

The broader presence of women in higher education evolved during the 20th century.

In the USA, leader in the number of Nobel laureates, for example, today you are more likely to find young women in higher education than men, according to the Pew Research Center.

The institute also points out that women account for more than half of the US workforce who have completed higher education or have completed postgraduate studies.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that more women than men began receiving undergraduate degrees in the 1980s in the USA — the same occurred with master’s degrees. As for doctorates, the change was only seen from the first decade of the 2000s.

In Brazil, at least since 2004, women have made up 50% or more of both the number of master’s and doctoral students in the country, according to data from the project “Diversity in Brazilian Science”, carried out by Gemaa (Group of Multidisciplinary Studies of Action Afirmativa), from UERJ (State University of Rio de Janeiro) and supported by the Serrapilheira Institute.

The proportions are relatively stable during these almost two decades, with a small percentage increase in the last decade, in relation to the years close to 2004.

According to Marcia Rangel Candido, a researcher at Gemaa, from the 1970s onwards it was possible to observe a substantial increase in the presence of women in universities in Brazil. Currently, they are already the majority in postgraduate studies.

Interestingly, however, in the case of women there is a reduction as they advance academically to higher positions, something classified as the “scissors effect”.

There is a drop in the percentage of women in doctorates compared to those in master’s degrees. And a considerable percentage difference in relation to those found in teaching, with values ​​close to 40% since the beginning of the 2010s — with slightly lower numbers before that, again, according to data analyzed by Gemaa.

The scissors effect is not exclusive to Brazil — and not even to the scientific field, with presence in other professional areas as well —, according to Candido. And, despite our country and others in Latin America having some comparative prominence in relation to the participation of women in science, the situation in Brazil is still bad, says the expert.

An international initiative called GenderInSITE (Gender in Science, Innovation, Technology and Engineering) points out that, among 127 countries with available data on women’s participation in science, 39 have percentages of researchers that exceed 45%, which could mean either slightly above or below gender parity.

The possible explanations for the “scissors” are countless, depending on the area we are talking about. Prejudice, harassment, lack of sensitivity in the division of labor may be among them.

“If a woman becomes pregnant, she generally finds more care and openness in areas where more women live together,” says Candido.

The expert points out how structural changes take time and that there are also social movements that push discussions forward. She cites the Brazilian Network of Women Scientists and Parent in Science.

“I think the trend is to improve,” says Candido.