Women, Science and Technology program
In September 2018, the jury named winners of the For Women in Science award set up by L’Oréal and UNESCO. Ten young candidates and doctors of science received grants to continue their academic career. In December, the awards ceremony was held in Moscow, featuring its long-time host, journalist Svetlana Sorokina.
In the 1990s, the issue of poor recognition of women scientists in professional academic community rose to prominence. This topic was first discussed at the IV International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The following year, the Women, Science and Technology program was launched within the UNESCO framework.
A couple of years later, in 1998, the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO launched the For Women in Science program. It aims to help women researchers fulfill their potential. The initiative was supported by Nobel Prize winner in medicine Christian de Duve, who agreed to become chairperson of the first selection jury.
Every year, the program recognizes the achievements of representatives of five regions of the world: Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Five female researchers receive the prestigious award and become role models. Representatives of Russia have received the L’Oréal-UNESCO award only once: in 2007, Tatyana Birshtein, professor of Physics Department at St. Petersburg State University, won the award for research in the field of polymers.
In 2000, L’Oréal-UNESCO international scholarship was established, aimed at researchers who have defended their candidate dissertation and are involved in research projects abroad. This initiative has become an example to follow by the international academic community and an invaluable source of motivation and support for women scientists. In 2011, Tatyana Lopatina, Candidate of Biological Sciences, became the first Russian winner of the scholarship. She studies the role of stem cells in tissue regeneration at the Medical Faculty of Moscow State University.
L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science national scholarships became gradually introduced in different countries. In Russia, the initiative was launched in 2007 with the participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO. Over the years, 115 young female researchers have received scholarships for important scientific achievements.
The international award and scholarships of L’Oréal and UNESCO became the first scientific awards given specifically to women. Overcoming existing social stereotypes allows young female researchers to be more successful in their scientific careers and achieve brilliant results.
Source: lorealfellowships-russia.org