Ain’t No Stopping Us Now
For Women in Science is every female scientist’s possible stepping stone to the Nobel Prize
‘Iwould like to thank my friends and family for supporting me through all this and letting me know that it’s OK to study rotting leaves,” said Professor Amy T. Austin during her acceptance speech last month in Paris. There was good humour and chuckles rang throughout the Unesco House, but there was also an underlying distress that provides a portal to understanding what sort of tribulations female scientists must go through.
Austin was chosen as this year’s Latin America laureate in the L’Oreal-Unesco For Women in Science Awards — the glamorous and charismatic equivalent of the Oscars, but for women who have made outstanding achievements and provided cuttingedge research in their scientific field. Her remarkable work on terrestrial ecosystem ecology fosters an understanding on what repercussions humans face from environmental changes on Earth.
The Asia-Pacific laureate, Professor Mee-Mann Chang, was recognised for her fossil discoveries that enlighten on how aquatic vertebrates from millions of years ago evolved to live on land, all of which contributes to understanding humanity’s origins. Chang’s research and life is actually one of the most fascinating profiles of this year’s edition, as the Chinese palaeontologist’s research was disrupted and halted for over a decade after the Cultural Revolution began in 1966.
Every year since 1998, five exceptional women scientists from each continent have received this prestigious honour, which is a joint programme between the foundation of the French beauty giant L’Oreal and Unesco. Laureates go through a competitive and rigorous selection process with an international jury of 10 eminent scientists — one of whom is the executive director of Thailand’s National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Dr Kanyawim Kirtikara. Candidates are leaders in their field who have achieved national-level significance. Over the last 20 years, 102 laureates have been honoured and three have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
The disposition of that minuscule number is the very reason why this important stage was set up. According to the Unesco Science Report Towards 2030, only 28% of today’s researchers are women and only 3% of Nobel prizes for science have been awarded to women. Women scientists still struggle to access senior roles and funding as opposed to their male counterparts. For Women In Science (FWIS) aims to make great strides by granting funding, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and
recognition in order to promote gender equality in science, as well as to encourage girls to not shy away from choosing science as a future career. The glitzy recognition that comes with being awarded brings life-changing visibility and career opportunities that the 2009 Laureate for Africa and the Arab States, Tebello Nyokong, shared during round table at the ceremony: “The media was far reaching and from every corner of the world. It made African science visible, it made African women visible — that Africa is not just for disease and war. On terms of policy, I was pleasantly surprised to get a message from the former secretarygeneral of the UN saying I should join a panel for promotion or put together a policy for the 40 least developed countries. So we didn’t only give money to solve problems, we should also develop their science.”
The organisation’s other award, International Rising Talents, honours 15 young female scientists younger than 35 from a pool of national and regional fellows of the L’Oreal-Unesco FWIS programme. These are women who are in the early stages of their scientific careers and have been selected for their promising achievements, which will be supported so that they reach their full potential. Coming from a wide variety of scientific backgrounds, these researchers are contributing to understanding
THAI FEMALE SCIENTISTS, WHEN COMPARED TO THEIR MALE COLLEAGUES, ARE NO LESS EXCEPTIONAL
the world’s pressing challenges. From climate change to pandemics, their intellectual findings to solve social, economic and environmental issues globally are in fact, the very basis for changing the world.
Even pure science, which may not necessarily lead to practical application for the wide public, is essential, according to Dr Yongyuth Yuthavong. The former minister of science technology, who has been the jury for Thailand’s FWIS fellows since its inception 16 years ago, said: “We need to understand that it takes a very long time before some sciences can be used widely and we just need to persevere. Things like Einstein’s theory of relativity was something we thought would just be knowledge, but it is actually the basis of GPS technology and how we can calculate the exact location and time. Quantum mechanics too was discovered 100 years ago, but it is only today that quantum computers are in the making. Ten years from now, computers will be more powerful than the computers now.”
The professor was part of the Thai delegation who attended the week of FWIS, along with other jury members and female recipients of last year’s Crystal Award, Dr Pimchai Chaiyen and Dr Anchalee Manonukul. This award is specific to Thailand and was established to mark 15 years of the FWIS in Thailand, as well as to honour the two fellows for their excellence in biochemistry and metallurgy respectively. Here, it becomes most clear that money is sometimes not the component for progress, but rather, it is a chance to connect with international talents from other countries and to have a platform to share one’s ideas that brings scientific advancement. During the whole week, Pimchai and Anchalee were able to participate in networking events and training hosted by the FWIS. This included courses to enhance public speaking and many other issues faced by scientists. These skills were put to showmanship use at the Scientific Conference held at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild. Organised similar to a TED Talk, 15 former laureates and rising talents took to the stage in an almost rock star-like manner to discuss the newest geological issues; how the world will be fed in the future; ethical questions raised by new technologies; people living longer and space exploration.
Although no Thais have been named a laureate or received the International Rising Talent award, Yongyuth believes a Thai scientist will eventually receive the younger honour, when compared to this year’s awardees. The laureate award may be a longer shot (especially with stiff competition from all of Asia as well as Australia) but would likely happen within the next 10-20 years. “Thai female scientists, when compared to their male colleagues, are no less exceptional. From what I’ve seen, they suffer less while advancing compared to their Japanese or American counterparts. It may be because Thais tends to have hired help, so they are not burdened with housekeeping. The scientific community in Thailand can definitely compete on the global stage and I do see it happening in the future.”
The old-fashioned expectations that women prioritise running a household over their careers are subsiding, with non-traditional careers like law enforcement, business and science being staffed by women worldwide. Throughout the week the words heavily uttered were: “The world needs science. And science needs women.” Female empowerment is not the only gain from these words, as gender bias in science can be eliminated with more women in the field. Consider cardiovascular drugs that were mostly tested on men, hence, less effective for women due to the lack of an all-inclusive experimentation. More research that also includes a women’s creative and diverse perspective will add to a more well-rounded search for solutions.
To push progress even further, the initiative “Male Champions For Women In Science” was also announced for the 20th anniversary of the FWIS. Male leaders in the scientific community were chosen and will be expected to generate opportunities and measurable changes for women scientists. Yongyuth said that it is the right direction to head in. “It’s good to come up with this so it doesn’t divide into two camps, where women just do their own research and men do theirs,” he said. “We need to support women because they make up half the population, so we can move ahead as fast as we should — and together.”