On June 23rd, the Fondation L'Oral and UNESCO will be celebrating 45 eminent women scientists from over 35 countries and all regions of the world at an unprecedented For Women in Science International Awards Ceremony being held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

The past three years have been some of the most challenging for science in recent history. Women have been on the frontlines, addressing unparalleled issues related to climate change, disease, and health crises like the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite being essential to tackle today's emergencies, female scientists are not yet sufficiently visible and numerous.

PARIS, INTERNATIONAL RALLYING POINT FOR FEMALE SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE

Starting on June 20th, the entire week will be dedicated to making Paris a rallying point for some of the world's top scientific minds. A series of events will create interactions between these outstanding women scientists, including an Extraordinary Lecture at the Academy of Sciences and networking events, leading up to the Awards Ceremony at UNESCO on June 23rd.

In this special Ceremony gathering the laureates from the past three editions, 15 exceptional researchers will receive the L'Oral-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards in recognition of their outstanding scientific achievements in recent years, along with 30 young female scientists, selected in 2020 and 2022, who will earn the title of International Rising Talents.

COUNTERING THE SIDELINING OF WOMEN SCIENTISTS

According to UNESCO recent data, the number of women pursuing scientific careers is increasing slightly, only one in three researchers is a woman globally1. In the research world, the glass ceiling persists: just 14%2 of senior academic positions in Europe are held by women and just 4% of the Nobel prizes in science have been awarded to women.

Alexandra Palt, L'Oral Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer and CEO of the Fondation L'Oral, said: During the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen how women scientists are essential to respond to existential threats to our health, to society, to the planet. But still they are invisibilized and often face tremendous obstacles during their careers and research studies. This situation is the result of systemic barriers, unconscious bias, self-censorship but also discrimination. This is not just a problem for women: this is a problem for research. To be relevant, research has to be inclusive and needs all its talents to be mobilized.

According to Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences of UNESCO: Many of the rising female talents being celebrated this year are excelling in fields that will be vital to decarbonizing our future, such as energy storage systems, hydrogen fuel systems and quantum optics, a field of study which is paving the way for more energy-efficient computers. Yet many of their peers working in similarly strategic fields are not getting the recognition that they deserve. UNESCO, as the UN agency in charge of science, which has made gender equality a priority, is determined to act to put an end to these inequalities. The L'Oral-UNESCO For Women in Science partnership is a relevant example of positive action in this field, giving a voice and visibility to women scientists and to their achievements to meet the challenges of our century.

Since its inception in 1998, the L'Oral-UNESCO For Women in Science program has honored and supported 3,900 women scientists. It continues to lobby for these women to receive the recognition that they deserve. These brilliant female researchers have contributed significantly to their respective scientific fields and to finding effective solutions to some of the most pressing and urgent challenges that we face as a global society. This year's celebration will be a way to acclaim them for their life's work and the many obstacles they have overcome.

DISCOVER THE LAUREATES AND INTERNATIONAL RISING TALENTS CELEBRATED THIS YEAR

More information on these 45 women in science awarded by clicking on this link

LAUREATES 2022

LAUREATE FOR AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Professor Agns Binagwaho, PUBLIC HEALTH AND PEDIATRICS, Professor of Pediatrics and Vice-Chancellor of Global Health Equity University, Kigali, Rwanda

LAUREATE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Professor Hailan Hu, NEUROSCIENCE, Professor and Executive Director of the Neuroscience Center of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China

LAUREATE FOR EUROPE

Professor ngela Nieto, EMBRYOLOGY AND BIOMEDICINE, Professor at the Institute of Neuroscience (CSIC-UMH), San Juan de Alicante, Spain

LAUREATE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Professor Maria Guzmn, INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND VIROLOGY, Director of the Research Center of the Pedro Kouri Institute (IPK), Institute of Tropical Medicine, Havana, Cuba

LAUREATE FOR NORTH AMERICA

Professor Katalin Karik, BIOCHEMISTRY, Adjunct Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America, and Senior Vice President at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals, Philadelphia, United States of America

LAUREATES 2021

LAUREATE FOR AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Professor Catherine Ngila, CHEMISTRY, Acting Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, Former Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic and Student Affairs (DVC-AA) at Riara University, Kenya, and Visiting Professor of Applied Chemistry at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa

LAUREATE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Professor Kyoko Nozaki, CHEMISTRY, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tokyo, Japan

LAUREATE FOR EUROPE

Professor Franoise Combes, ASTROPHYSICS, Professor and Galaxies and Cosmology Chair at the Collge de France in Paris, and Astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory - PSL, France

LAUREATE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Professor Alicia Dickenstein, MATHEMATICS, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

LAUREATE FOR NORTH AMERICA

Professor Shafi Goldwasser, COMPUTER SCIENCE, Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at University of California Berkeley, RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, United States of America and Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Weizmann Institute, Israel

LAUREATES 2020

LAUREATE FOR AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Professor Abla Mehio Sibai, MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES, Professor of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

LAUREATE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Doctor Firdausi Qadri, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Senior Scientist, Head Mucosal Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh

LAUREATE FOR EUROPE

Professor Edith Heard, FRS, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory at the Collge de France, Paris, France, and former Director of the Genetics and Developmental Biology Unit at the Institut Curie, Paris, France

LAUREATE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Professor Esperanza Martnez-Romero, ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, Professor of Environmental Science at the Genomic Science Center, National University of Mexico, Mexico

LAUREATE FOR NORTH AMERICA

Professor Kristi Anseth, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Distinguished Professor, Tisone Professor and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado, Boulder, United States of America

INTERNATIONAL RISING TALENTS 2022

AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Dr. Lina Dahabiyeh, BASIC MEDICINE, The University of Jordan, Jordan

Dr. Ndeye Maty Ndiaye, MATERIAL ENGINEERING, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal

Dr. Waad Saftly, PHYSICS, Al-Baath University, Syria

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Dr. So Young Choi, INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea

Dr. Van Thi Thanh Ho, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Hochiminh City University of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam

Dr. Pantana Tor-ngern, EARTH & RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Dr. Daria Smirnova, PHYSICS, Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy

of Sciences, Russia

EUROPE

Dr. Natalia Bruno, PHYSICS, National Institute of Optics of the National Research Council, Italy

Dr. Karolina Mikulska-Ruminska, PHYSICS, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland

Dr. Ieva Plikusiene, CHEMISTRY, Vilnius University, Lithuania

Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, PHYSICS, Stockholm University, Sweden

LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN

Dr. Maria Florencia Cayrol, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Institute of Biomedical Research - UCA - CONICET, Argentina

Dr. Irene del Real, EARTH & RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, Austral University, Chile

NORTH AMERICA

Dr. Daphn Lemasquerier, PHYSICS, University of Texas at Austin, United States of America

Dr. Alison McAfee, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, University of British Columbia and North Carolina State University, Canada

INTERNATIONAL RISING TALENTS 2020

AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Dr. Laura-Joy Boulos, FUNDAMENTAL MEDICINE, Institute of Applied and Human Neurosciences (INSAN), Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

Dr. Nowsheen Goonoo, MATERIAL SCIENCES, BIOMATERIALS, Drug Delivery and Nanotechnology Unit, Centre for Biomedical and Biomaterials Research, University of Mauritius, Rduit, Mauritius

Dr. Nouf Mahmoud, HEALTH SCIENCES, Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology Laboratory, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

Dr. Georgina Nyawo, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Clinical Mycobacteriology & Epidemiology (CLIME), Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Dr. Rui Bai, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Structural Laboratory, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

Dr. Huanqian Loh, PHYSICS, Center for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Dr. Mikyung Shin, MEDICAL ENGINEERING, Nature-inspired Biomaterial Engineering Laboratory, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

EUROPE

Dr. Vida Engmann, MATERIAL ENGINEERING, SDU NanoSYD, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Snderborg, Denmark

Dr. Serap Erkek, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Cancer Epigenomics Laboratory, Biomedicine and Genome Center, Izmir, Turkey

Dr. Jennifer Garden, CHEMISTRY, School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Dr. Cristina Romera Castillo, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar, Barcelona, Spain

Dr. Olena Vaneeva, MATHEMATICS, Department of Mathematical Physics, Institute of Mathematics of NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Dr. Paula Giraldo-Gallo, PHYSICS, Quantum Materials Laboratory, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogot, Colombia

Dr. Patrcia Medeiros, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Laboratory of Biocultural Ecology, Conservation and Evolution Institution: Federal University of Alagoas, Macei, Brazil

NORTH AMERICA

Dr. Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States of America

ABOUT THE FONDATION L'ORAL

The Fondation L'Oral supports and empowers women to shape their future and make a difference in society, focusing on three major areas: scientific research and inclusive beauty and climate action.

Since 1998, the L'Oral-UNESCO For Women in Science program has worked to empower more women scientists to overcome barriers to progression and participate in solving the great challenges of our time, for the benefit of all. For 24 years, it has supported more than 3,900 women researchers from over 110 countries, rewarding scientific excellence and inspiring younger generations of women to pursue science as a career.

Convinced that beauty contributes to the process of rebuilding lives, the Fondation L'Oral helps vulnerable women to improve their self-esteem through free beauty and wellness treatments. It also enables underprivileged women to gain access to employment with dedicated vocational beauty training. On average, around 21,000 people have access to these free treatments every year and more than 27,000 people have taken part in professional beauty training, since the beginning of the program.

Finally, women are affected by persistent gender-based discrimination and inequalities, exacerbated by climate change. While they are on the frontline of the crisis, they remain under-represented in climate decision-making. The Women and Climate program of the Fondation L'Oral supports, in particular, women who are developing climate action projects addressing the urgent climate crisis and raises awareness of the importance of gender-sensitive climate solutions.

ABOUT UNESCO

Since its creation in 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has worked to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures, and peoples, based on respect for common values. UNESCO's mission is to use its unique expertise in education, science, culture, communication and information to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development, and intercultural dialogue. The Organization has two global priorities: Africa and gender equality.

UNESCO is the only UN specialized agency with a specific mandate in the sciences, symbolized by the "S" in its acronym. Through its science-related programs, UNESCO contributes to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, helps developing countries build their scientific and technological capacities, and supports Member States in their efforts to develop science policies and programs. UNESCO also supports Member States in their efforts to develop effective public policies that integrate local and indigenous knowledge systems.

UNESCO promotes scientific research and expertise in developing countries. The Organization leads several intergovernmental programs on sustainable management of freshwater, ocean and terrestrial resources, biodiversity conservation, and the use of science to address climate change and reduce disaster risk.

UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development, UNESCO Publishing (2021)

European Commission 2018 She figures report

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L'Oral-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards 2022 - Benzinga - Benzinga