Leading scientists launch Manifesto to fight for equality for women in science
Leading scientists launch Manifesto to fight for equality for women in science
Five extraordinary women scientists who have changed the world through their work join a call for a global fight for equality at every level in the sciences
Five of the world’s most eminent scientists have become the first signatories of a ground-breaking manifesto for change in the field of science.
The 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureates; Professor Jennifer Doudna, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Professor Hualan Chen and Professor Andrea Gamarnik pledged their support for L’Oréal and UNESCO’s joint Manifesto, launched via a digital campaign following the annual ceremony at Paris’ La Maison de la Mutualité.
The global Manifesto calls on governments, organisations and the general public around the world to fight for equality at every level in the sciences. It was jointly signed by Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L’Oréal and Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director.
Despite making up half the population, only 28% of the world’s science researchers are women and just 3% of Nobel prizes for science have been won by women. The L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO are convinced that more needs to be done in order to step up the pace of change by launching a digital campaign to engage the scientific community, the institutional and the general public to sign the Manifesto For Women in Science.
The Manifesto’s six requests are:
• Encourage girls to explore scientific career paths
• Break down the barriers that prevent women scientists from pursuing long term careers in research
• Prioritise women’s access to senior positions and leadership positions in the sciences
• Celebrate with the general public the contribution that women scientists make to scientific progress and to society
• Ensure gender equality through participation and leadership in symposiums and scientific commissions, such as conferences, committees and board meetings
• Promote mentoring and networking for young scientists to enable them to plan and develop careers that meet their expectations
The manifesto is available to sign at www.forwomeninscience.com
The results of the manifesto campaign will be shared at the 9th European Conference on Gender Equality in High Education and Research from 12th to 14th of September in Paris
Founded in 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO partnership works to provide recognition and support for women in scientific roles, promoting their centrality to history-making and life-changing research projects and driving the career progression their talent demands.
The partnership honoured five of the planet’s leading women scientists at a global awards ceremony at Paris’ La Maison de la Mutualité.. This year, for the first time in the programme’s history, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards honour a research duo; Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French researcher based in Germany and Professor Jennifer Doudna, from the U.S., for their collaboration in genome editing technology which the jury believe has ‘set the scientific world on fire’ by making it possible to “rewrite” flawed genes in people and other living organisms, opening tremendous new possibilities for treating, even curing, diseases.