L’ORÉAL-UNESCO
FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

2016

INTERNATIONAL
AWARDSWOMEN IN SCIENCE

have the power
to change the world

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme wasfounded in 1998 with a simple aim; to ensure that women are fairly
represented at all levels in science.
We face unprecedented challenges in our world; climate change,sustainable energy, affordable healthcare, security among otherissues. Part of the solutions will come from science and science needs
women. Those recognized by the L’Oréal-UNESCO programme
have already proved how transformative their science can be inaddressing these challenges.
Science is indeed part of the future, and it needs every talented
mind available, be they men or women. The L’Oréal-UNESCO For
Women in Science programme aims to ensure that research in every
field takes full advantage of the intelligence, creativity and passionof one-half of the population of the planet.
The world needs science, science needs women because women inscience have the power to change the world.

Isabel Marey Semper
General Manager L’Oréal Foundation

WOMEN IN SCIENCE

have the power
to change the world

Gender equality is a global priority for UNESCO. In general, thesituation for women and girls in terms of access to education,
especially higher education, career progression and participationin decision making processes, remains a matter of concern.
As ‘UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030’ shows, the disparity
is particularly evident in the natural sciences where the number ofwomen participating in science still lags behind in many areas likethe physical sciences and engineering.
In the framework of UNESCO’s partnership with the L’Oréal
Foundation, the For Women in Science programme provides animportant vehicle giving high visibility to the work and scientificexcellence of eminent women researchers and has boosted the career
progression of numerous young women researchers worldwide,
offering them a support network of their peers and mentors.
More can be done to build scientific capacities of women andempower them to participate in all spheres of science and high-level
decision-making.

Flavia Schlegel
Assistant Director-General for the Natural Sciences of the UNESCO

L’ORÉAL-UNESCO
FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE2016

HONOURING WOMENIN SCIENCE

who have the power
to change the world

HONOURING WOMENIN SCIENCE

who have the power
to change the world

In the 18 years since its foundation, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For
Women in Science programme has honoured 92 eminent scientists
and supported 2,438 young women in science. These brilliant
women researchers have, each in their own way, truly made theworld a better place.
Impacting the lives of people around the planet, their discoveries areoffering new solutions and answering vital questions. Their groundbreaking innovation is advancing entire fields of research and evenopening new ones.
The Laureates’ research are contributing to curing disease,increasing food supplies, enabling sustainable development, helping
ensure the survival of our planet to better understand our universe,
adding to our knowledge of the very foundations of life.

HONOURING WOMENIN SCIENCE

who have the power
to change the world

Among the visionary researchers recognized and supported by the
programme over the past 18 years is Professor Mildred Dresselhaus(2007 Laureate for North America). She is a pioneering physicist
whose career-long study of carbon nanotubes has made possible
applications ranging from ultra-light materials for buildings, cars
and bicycles to microscopic tools for delivering medicine directly
inside cells. Her work has the potential to transform almost every
aspect of our lives.
Professor Brigitte Kieffer (2014 Laureate for Europe) became thefirst scientist to isolate the long sought gene for an opioid receptor
in the brain. This plays a key role in alleviating pain and opened
a whole new world of research into pain management, reward
processes and addictive behaviours. Because of this discovery,
scientists finally began to understand why opium based drugs canact as both painkillers and drugs of addiction. Brigitte Kieffer’s
work has led to new analgesics and shown the biological basis of
addiction, revolutionising our approach to addiction, and offering
new hope for recovery to innumerable adults and teenagers trying
to surmount the challenges of substance abuse.

L’ORÉAL-UNESCO
FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

2016

THE 2016
LAUREATES :Women scientists
at the cutting-edge

THE RIGOROUS SELECTION PROCESS

THE 2016
LAUREATES :NOMINATIONSWomen scientists
at the cutting-edge

MORE THAN 2500 NOMINATORSFROM 135 COUNTRIES

154 CANDIDATURESFROM 50 COUNTRIESPEER REVIEW
2 OR 3 SCIENTISTS EXPERTS IN THE CANDIDATES’ FIELD OF RESEARCHREVIEW EACH NOMINATION

45 CANDIDATURESFROM 23 COUNTRIESJURY
13 EMINENT SCIENTISTS, PRESIDED BY NOBEL PRIZE WINNER,
REVIEW ALL CANDIDATURES

5 LAUREATES
1 IN EACH OF THE WORLD’S REGIONSEUROPENORTH AMERICA

ASIA-PACIFIC
AFRICA AND ARAB STATESLATIN AMERICA

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards recognises
five outstanding researchers, brilliant women, one from each of thefollowing regions: Africa and the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe,
Latin America and North America. This year’s Laureates once
again exemplify women’s scientific excellence and their potential for
leading the global community in positive, productive directions.
Scientists around the world are invited to nominate candidates, andan international independent jury of eminent scientists makes the
final selection.
For this year’s award, a new jury was led by former Laureate andNobel Prize winner, Professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn. Her researchon telomeres, the ‘caps’ on the end of chromosomes that protect
DNA, has transformed our understanding of ageing and cancer.
The Jury has recognised the tenacity, the creativity and theintelligence of the 5 eminent women scientists who bring theirtransformative science to change the world.

THE 2016
LAUREATES :Women scientists
at the cutting-edge

2016 Laureate from Germany
PROFESSOR
EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER

2016 Laureate from South Africa
PROFESSORQUARRAISHA ABDOOL KARIM

2016 Laureate from the United States
PROFESSORJENNIFER DOUDNAFOR CONTROLLING THE SPREAD OF HIV

FOR REINVENTING GENETIC RESEARCH

36.9 million people live with HIV infection. Professor Abdool
Karim’s research has empowered women to help prevent HIV
infection in Africa.

There are over 10,000 incurable conditions caused by single genetic defects.
The gene editing technology developed by Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier& Professor Jennifer Doudna has the power to “rewrite” DNA.

2016 Laureate from China
PROFESSORHUALAN CHEN

2016 Laureate from Argentina
PROFESSOR
ANDREA GAMARNIKFOR PROTECTING LIVES FROM DEADLY FLU VIRUSES

FOR LIMITING THE SPREAD OF DENGUE VIRUS

Thanks to Professor Chen’s research, the world has been protected frompandemics through innovative vaccines.

Every year 390 million people suffer from dengue infection. Professor
Gamarnik’s research has the potential to control the spread of the disease.

2016 LAUREATE

Africa and Arab States

Professor
Quarraisha Abdool Karim
MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES / EPIDEMIOLOGY
Associate Scientific Director, CAPRISA, Honorary Professor of Public Health,Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, SOUTH AFRICA
Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, UNITED STATES,FOR CONTROLLINGTHE SPREAD OF HIV
Worldwide, 2 million people became infected with
HIV in 2014. Across the world nearly 37 million are
already living with HIV, of which less than half are able
to access treatment. Prevention of this global threat is
the world’s top health priority. Professor Quarraisha
Abdool Karim’s contribution to this agenda has been
profound. Through her work as a globally recognised
infectious disease epidemiologist, she is respected forher seminal discoveries in the understanding of HIV
infection and spread. Her deep knowledge of the scienceand of the people affected by HIV/AIDS in her native
South Africa which has the highest rate of infectionsin the world, has underpinned her determination to
put prevention in the hands of women, particularly
teenagers and young women. She persisted in the quest
for an anti-HIV gel for use by women before, during
and after sex, despite many saying it could never be
done. In 2010 she succeeded, after decades of effort, with
Science hailing it as one of the top ten breakthroughs ofthe year. For her achievements, the President of South
Africa inducted her into the Order of Mapungubwe,
the highest citizen recognition of her countr y.
HER IMPACT: A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST HIV
Professor Abdool Karim is world renowned for her
scientific discoveries in HIV prevention, having devoted
the last 25 years to HIV research. Her work has provided
new insights into how the HIV epidemic spreads andimpacts adolescent girls and young women in Africa.
HIV infection prevention initially rested solely with men,for instance, whether they chose to use condoms. It wasrecognized that infection prevention needed to be put
directly in the hands of women and that ideally an anti-

infective gel, a microbicide, was needed. But two decadesof effort by many research teams, yielded little but
failure. Professor Abdool Karim led the team that finallydemonstrated that antiretroviral drugs could prevent thesexual transmission of HIV when the CAPRISA 004
study showed that gel containing the antiviral tenofovir
reduced the risk of infection by HIV in women by 39%.
This stunning discovery was named one of the Top
10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010 by Science. She
continues to study HIV prevention technology options
that will give women in high risk populations, sustained
protection through slow release, long action products.
HUSBAND-WIFE TEAM
Collaboration has played a key role in Professor Abdool
Karim’s career. As well as co-operating extensively
with scientists at Columbia University, New York andthe Ragon Institute at Harvard, the South African
researcher’s main collaborator is also her life partner,
Salim Abdool Karim. Like husband and wife team MayBritt and Edvard Moser, who won the Nobel Prize for
Medicine or Physiology in 2014, Quarraisha Abdool
Karim and her husband have worked together for 27
years. At the height of AIDS denialism in South Africa,
in 2002, the couple co-founded CAPRISA, the Centre
for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa. The
award winning research centre has impacted international
policies for HIV prevention and treatment. When asked
about working side by side with her spouse, Professor
Abdool Karim’s answer is unambiguously positive.
“Our shared vision, mutual support and commitment
to preventing HIV in young women have enabled us topersevere and succeed in a very challenging field.”

2016 LAUREATE

Asia-PacificProfessor
Hualan Chen
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES / VETERINARY SCIENCES
Professor, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, CHINA

FOR PROTECTING LIVESFROM DEADLY FLU VIRUSES

Professor Chen heads China’s National Avian reference
Laboratory in Harbin and in 2013 found herself on thefront line as cases of a new and deadly bird flu virus,
H7N9, began to appear. Chen and her team tested morethan 1,000 samples from soil, water and poultry farms
and markets around Shanghai, and when they foundH7N9 in the markets, they were quickly shut down.
Her vigilance is the world’s first line of defence and fornow, H7N9 which had previously not been known toinfect humans is quiet. Surveillance remains Chen’s toppriority but she is also renowned for her research in flu
and for the development of innovative new vaccines forboth humans and animals. In 2013, she was named one of
Nature magazine’s ‘Top ten scientists who matter’.
HER IMPACT: PROTECTING HUMANS AND
ANIMALS FROM DEADLY VIRUSES
Animals, birds and people can all be infected by flu viruses
which constantly mutate, swapping genetic material
with each other, so creating new strains with new
characteristics. The fear is always that a lethal animal or
bird strain acquires abilities to not only jump to humans
but also to spread quickly between us. It’s the makingsof a worldwide flu pandemic, of the sort that killed
more than 40 million people in 1918. Professor Chen
protects us through surveillance but she is also known
for her ambitious experiments creating flu hybrids.Thesedemonstrated the exact nature of the threats posed bywild emerging flu strains. These experiments and her
deep understanding of flu have helped her develop
two innovative new vaccines. Her efforts have proveninvaluable in both saving human lives and in avertingthe catastrophic economic costs of livestock epidemics.
A dedicated scientist whose goal has always been to
alleviate pain and suffering, Professor Chen has indeed
achieved her very noble dream of “using my knowledge,
experience, expertise, and technology to try to protect
humans and animals from a devastating disease.”WORLDWIDE COLLABORATION TO
COMBAT A WORLDWIDE THREAT
As contagious diseases like influenza know no borders,
they are symbolic of the critical need for global
collaboration among scientists. The Center for Disease
Control (CDC) and Prevention in the US is a monument
to such collaboration and is, fittingly, the institution
where Professor Chen spent three years undertaking
post-doctoral research. Professor Chen has high praise
for the CDC, the learning experience she was offered
there, her ongoing cooperation with the institution andits worldwide network of scientists. “Because influenza
viruses are moving targets that mutate and change as
they constantly migrate from continent to continent,international collaborations are crucial to understanding,controlling and perhaps one day eradicating this often
deadly disease.”2016 LAUREATE

Latin America

Professor
Andrea Gamarnik
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES/VIROLOGY
Professor, Molecular Virology Laboratory, Fundación Instituto Leloir,
CONICET, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

FOR LIMITING THE SPREAD
OF THE DENGUE VIRUS

Professor Andrea Gamarnik has spent much of her
career trying to understand the virus that causes dengue
fever. Affecting some 390 million people every year, thisdisease is spread by mosquitoes in the subtropical andtropical regions that are home to half of the planet’s
population. The most severe form of the disease causes
hemorrhagic fever, leading to approximately 20,000
deaths annually, especially among children. Cases ofdengue have increased dramatically since the 1960s andthere is evidence that as the world warms, the mosquitoes
responsible for transmission are extending their range.
HER IMPACT: GREATER
UNDERSTANDING OF A DEADLY VIRUS
Professor Gamarnik has been trying to unlock the secretsof this virus for many years, focusing particularly on
how it replicates. This is no easy task because the virus
adapts to different environments and exists in different
forms across vast expanses of the globe. Ultimately, herresearch has the potential to enable medical science tocreate antivirals or vaccines against dengue virus. Such
medicines would prevent the untold suffering of millions
of people living predominantly in emerging countries aswell as alleviating the enormous economic burden on
both individuals and underfunded public health systems
in the developing world. But her research has also a very
important impact for the understanding of the viral life
cycle of other emerging and re-emerging viruses closely
related to dengue, such as Zika virus, which is currently
causing a tremendous epidemic in Latin America.

˟World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en)*“SOMETHING THAT WOULD HELP ME
CHANGE THE WORLD”
Along with her own investigations, she also devotes muchof her time to training a new generation of scientists inmolecular virology, a greatly underdeveloped field in her
country. Professor Gamarnik is a woman of strongly-heldhumanitarian values and she dates her sense of social
commitment back to her high school years. “I was an
idealist and I wanted to study something that would help
me change the world.” Initially, she believed that studying
politics would enable her to achieve her lofty goals before
concluding that, for her, science offered an even better
opportunity for improving lives. Professor Gamarnik wasawarded a national fellowship by the L’Oréal-UNESCO
For Women in Science programme in Argentina in 2009.
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFICPARTNERSHIPS FOR
INTERNATIONAL VISIBILITY
Professor Gamarnik’s highly successful career perfectly
illustrates her conviction that “collaboration is essential
to the advancement of science.” Her first international
partnership was formed with researchers at France’s
famed Pasteur Institute. Such high-level exposure outsideof her home country led to a chain reaction sparking
further work with researchers in other European nations,in the US and in Latin America. “These collaborations
were instrumental in bringing my research to anotherlevel and greatly enhanced the quality of my work.”

2016 LAUREATE

Europe & North America

Professor
Emmanuelle Charpentier &Professor
Jennifer Doudna

CRISPR - A TECHNOLOGY AT THE CUTTING-EDGE

Some types of viruses attack bacteria. They infect them, using them tomultiply. But bacteria can fight back. Using molecular scissors, bacteria
snip out a piece of DNA from an invading virus. They tuck this ‘souvenir’of their foe away in the so called CRISPR region of their own DNA
which contains many such souvenirs. These are equivalent to stamps
on a vaccine record card, effectively recording that the bacteria is now
immunized against attack by the viruses it has in its collection. Should oneof the viruses appear again, the bacteria quickly uses the right ‘souvenir’ asa template to generate copies made of RNA (a chemical cousin of DNA).
These are the foundation of the bacteria’s lethal and highly specific antivirus weapon. The weapon is then activated by the addition of a further,and essential small piece of RNA, together with a subset of Cas enzyme
called Cas9. Like a guided missile, this complex searches through the viralgenome for an exact match. Only once it locks on the matching sequencein the virus, does the Cas9 act as molecular scissors, cutting clean throughthe double helix of the virus’s DNA, disabling it for good.

Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in
Science Laureate for Europe and Professor Jennifer Doudna, 2016 L’OréalUNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for North America, each contributed
key insights to the development of a ground breaking new technology that has set
the scientific world on fire, reinventing genetic research and making it possible
to perform microsurgery on DNA, the genetic material of plants, animals andhumans. Working in collaboration, the two researchers discovered an easy way
to alter any organism’s DNA. Known as CRISPR-Cas9, this genome editing
technique enables scientists to remove and add pieces of genetic material withexquisite precision. It can be used to disable genes, correct genetic disorders or
to insert genes to create animal models of human disease.
THEIR IMPACT: AN EXTRAORDINARILY POWERFUL RESEARCH TOOL
AND A POTENTIAL CURE FOR INNUMERABLE DISEASESWe are only just beginning to grasp the full impact of this extraordinary newtechnology. The CRISPR-Cas9 complex is able to home in on a matchingsequence with extraordinary precision. It opens completely new possibilities ingene therapy, cell therapy and immunotherapy. It opens new fields in agriculture
and biotechnology. It offers new means of developing medicines. It offers thepossibility of removing faulty disease causing DNA, for instance in cells in thelungs of children affected with cystic fibrosis or the muscles of those with so
me forms of muscular dystrophy. It has already been used to save the life of achild with an incurable form of leukaemia and to improve the sight of patients
suffering from retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease. Now in a world first,
it is being used to investigate the causes of infertility and miscarriage at the
Crick Institute in London. And there is much, much more to come.

2016 LAUREATE

EuropeProfessor
Emmanuelle Charpentier
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES/MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Director, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology,
Berlin, GERMANY

FOR REINVENTINGGENETIC RESEARCH

Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, 2016 L’OréalUNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for Europe, is ahighly respected microbiologist and geneticist. For sometime she had been working on Streptococcus pyogenes,
more familiar to us as one of the bacteria responsible forsore throats. In particular she was fascinated by the waythat it defended itself against attack by phages, viruses
that hunt down bacteria. In a breakthrough piece ofwork, published in Nature in 2011, she described how socalled CRISPR sequences (cf CRISPR – A technology
at the cutting-edge) containing pieces of DNA taken by
the bacteria from its foes uses these to immunize itself
against further attack. She identified and characterized
the components of the now known as - CRISPRCas9 system - in the pathogen S. pyogenes, namely
the enzyme Cas9 and a duplex of RNA molecules
containing the memorized foe. This was a stunning
discovery. Her research - later went on to elaborate ingreater detail that this exact system targets the DNA ofthe virus for its destruction. In 2011, at her request, shebegan collaboration with Professor Jennifer Doudna tofurther elucidate the structure of the CRISPR-Cas9
complex. In a landmark paper in Science in 2012 thatreflected work from both labs, they reported that thetargeting mechanism could be harnessed as a powerfulprogrammable genome editing technology, and that the
duplex of RNA molecules could be further adapted as asingle RNA guide, providing a convenient and versatilelaboratory technology for gene editing.
Charpentier quickly realized that gene editing raised
many potential ethical concerns, which she stated in thejournal Le Monde.
Professor Charpentier has been immensely generous
with her time, helping other scientists understand how to
use CRISPR-Cas9 technology in their work. As a result,its use has spread like wildfire in the science community.
It has literally reinvented genetic research.
WHEN TWO WOMEN SCIENTISTS
JOIN FORCES“For today’s scientists, crossing borders between countries anddisciplines is instrumental to opening doors to new questions
and new answers,” affirms Professor Charpentier. Indeed aglobetrotting researcher, she is well-positioned to speakout for international collaborative ventures. Along withleading an institution in a country other than her own,
Germany, the French-born scientist has lived and worked
in her native France, Sweden, the US and Austria whilewinning worldwide recognition for a history-making codiscovery made with another brilliant woman researcher
located halfway across the world.

2016 LAUREATE

North America

Professor
Jennifer Doudna
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES/MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of
Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, United States

FOR REINVENTINGGENETIC RESEARCH

Professor Doudna is a world renowned structural
biologist and understanding RNA, a close cousin ofDNA, has long been her forte. Back in 2005 she was asked
to have a look at intriguing repeating regions of DNA
in bacteria called CRISPR sequences. In 2011, French
microbiologist, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier
asked her to collaborate. Professor Charpentier had
already published important work showing that bacteria
were effectively able to vaccinate themselves against
types of virus that they had already encountered using
a CRISPR-Cas system (cf CRISPR - A technology
at the cutting-edge). Together, Doudna, with her
profound knowledge of RNA and Charpentier, with her
CRISPR-Cas insight, published findings demonstratingthat the mechanism used by bacteria to disable their foes
could be adapted as a programmable precision genetic
tool to modify genes in cells and organisms.
Professor Doudna quickly realized that gene editingraised many potential ethical concerns. She has also
been at the forefront of ensuring that these concerns
are properly debated and understood. In particular she
has pointed out potential concerns posed by so called‘germ line editing’, that is affecting future generations byaltering sequences in either sperm or egg.

MODERN SCIENCE IS DEFINED BY
COLLABORATIONAs one of two 2016 Laureates sharing credit for thesame discovery, this immensely important breakthroughprovides the ideal example of what scientists achieve
when working together. “Collaborations have beena crucial part of the success of my scientific researchthroughout my career” says Professor Doudna“Multidisciplinary research teams are essential to making
fundamental progress in any field. Indeed, collaboration
defines the modern mode of scientific research.”

THE JURY OF THE
L’ORÉAL-UNESCO
FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

Awards 2016

PROF. ELIZABETH H. BLACKBURN

President of the Jury L’Oréal-UNESCO
2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, President of the
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Professor Emerita, University ofCalifornia San Francisco, United States
L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate 2008

PROF. ANA BELÉN ELGOYHEN

DR. JACQUES LECLAIRE

Investigator at the Institute for Research on Genetic Engineeringand Molecular Biology, National Scientific and TechnicalResearch Council (CONICET) , ARGENTINA
L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate 2008

Scientific Director L’Oréal
Research & Innovation FRANCE

DR. APPOLINAIRE DJIKENG

Director, Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BecA) Hub,International Livestock ResearchInstitute (ILRI), KENYA
PROF. RAYMOND N. DUBOIS

Dean; College of Medicine, Professor of Biochemistry andMedicine, Medical University of South Carolina, USA

PROF. KHALED MACHACA,

Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Associate Dean for
Research,Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, QATARPROF. MACIEJ NALECZ

Director, Executive Secretary of the International Basic Sciences
Programme, UNESCO, FRANCE
PROF. CHRISTINE PETIT MD, PHD

Professor of Medical Genetics, Michael Smith Laboratories,
University of British Columbia, CANADA

Professor at College de France, Member of the Institute ofMedicine of the National Academies (IOM) Head of Genetics
and Physiology of Hearing Laboratory, Inserm UMRS 1120 –UPMC, Institut Pasteur, FRANCE
L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate 2004

PROF. NANCY Y. IP

PROF. AUGUSTO ROJAS-MARTÍNEZ

Dean of Science, Morningside Professor of Life Science, The
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, CHINA
L’Oréal-UNESCO Laureate 2004

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Schoolof Medicine and Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en
Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León,
MEXICOPROF. PHILIP HIETER

DR. KANYAWIM KIRTIKARA

Executive Director of the National Center for Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC),THAILAND

PROF. MACIEJ ZYLICZHead of the Department of Molecular Biology, International
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, POLAND

L’ORÉAL-UNESCO
FOR WOMENIN SCIENCE

An ambition expressedin a manifesto

THE FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCEMANIFESTO

1 / ENCOURAGE GIRLS TO EXPLORE SCIENTIFIC CAREER PATHS.
DOWN THE BARRIERS THAT PREVENT WOMEN SCIENTISTS
2 / BREAKFROM PURSUING LONG TERM CAREERS IN RESEARCH.
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO SENIOR POSITIONS AND
3 / PRIORITISELEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN THE SCIENCES.
WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC THE CONTRIBUTION
4 / CELEBRATE
THAT WOMEN SCIENTISTS MAKE TO SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND
TO SOCIETY.
GENDER EQUALITY THROUGH PARTICIPATION AND
5 / ENSURE
LEADERSHIP IN SYMPOSIUMS AND SCIENTIFIC COMMISSIONS,SUCH AS CONFERENCES, COMMITTEES AND BOARD MEETINGS.
M OTE M ENTO RI N G AN D N E T WO R KI N G FO R YO U N G
6 / PROSCIENTISTS TO ENABLE THEM TO PLAN AND DEVELOP CAREERS
THAT MEET THEIR EXPECTATIONS.

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme hasachieved a great deal for women in science in the almost two decades
since its foundation. But the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO areconvinced that more needs to be done in order to step up the paceof change. The programme is now therefore taking its commitment
a step further, to ensure that it has the visibility and public support
to achieve its goals with the necessary speed and urgency.
On the 24 th of March, the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO
launch a digital campaign to engage the scientific community, theinstitutional and the general public to sign in the For Women in
Science Manifesto.
The results of the campaign will be shared at the 9th European
Conference on Gender Equality in High Education and Researchfrom 12th to 14th of September in Paris.

FOR WOMENIN SCIENCEPROGRAMME

Key figuresin 2016

Over the last 18 years

2,530

250

Women scientists recognized

Fellowships given worldwide this yearin 112 countries

over 6,531 applications

92

43

Awards Laureates honoured forHigh level scientific institutions

excellence in science, including two

involved worldwide

who went on to win the Nobel Prize

2,438

353

Talented young women granted

Scientists involved including 31 L’Oréal-UNESCO

Fellowships to pursue promising

For Women in Science Laureates in the selection process

research projectsof the national and regional programmes

All media resources for the2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme are available on:
WWW.FONDATIONLOREAL.COM/MEDIACENTER
Follow the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme on:#FORWOMENINSCIENCE
Sign the For Women in Science Manifesto on:www.forwomeninscience.com