Four Women Win Nobel Prize: What it Means for Gender Equity

There is more to the fact that four women have been awarded Nobel Prizes this year than can be adequately acknowledged by a footnote in the history of the awards or a notch on a timeline of women’s history. Nobel Prizes are awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace, areas that are traditionally dominated by men.

This is true even for the peace prize. In his will, Alfred Nobel described this award as designated for “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

The United Nations has acknowledged the lack of women involved in conflict resolution and peace-building processes. And UNIFEM, the U.N. Development Fund for Women, has reported that women, on average, represent less than ten percent of peace negotiation teams.

Not only have women been historically under-represented in the areas that are recognized by the awards, but they have also been under-represented among the nominating bodies. The Nobel Committee invites university professors, scientists, previous Nobel Laureates, and members of parliamentary assemblies to submit candidates for the prizes. These areas too, are typically dominated by men.

The gender imbalances in both the fields recognized and among the submitting bodies, shed light on the significance of four women receiving the award in a single year. Previously three women won in a single year, in 2004.

Certainly the reason for the four awards rests solely on the accomplishments of the recipients, regardless of sex.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn is the Morris Herztein Professor of Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California. Dr. Carol Greider is the Daniel Nathans Professor & Director Molecular Biology & Genetics, Johns Hopkins University. Together with Dr. Jack Szostak, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, they have made major breakthroughs in cancer research.
Professor Ada Yonath is The Martin S. and Helen Kimmel Professor of Structural Biology and Director of The Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly. She, along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A Steitz, were recognized for “studies of the structure and function of the ribosome,” work that will impact the development of antibiotics.
Herta Muller, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, has amassed an impressive, moving, body of work.

However, women’s accomplishments have gone unnoticed in the past. So it is worth contemplating what, if anything, has changed resulting in a better representation of women among the Laureates. Is it merely a numbers game –more women entering science, government and higher education means more women nominees? Does it reflect a shift in attitudes – scientists, world leaders and important writers are no longer viewed as traditional male-only roles? And is it an indicator of future opportunities and gender parity for women worldwide? Either way, it’s progress.

Read more: herta muller, nobel prize, womens rights

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Liz O'Donnell

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

La Loba L.

12:00AM PDT on Oct 20, 2009

There are many women who have, first of all, been told or indicated by their own mothers that they are inferior, that they do not deserve better, and they'd best get used to their place in the world. Yes, women have done this to other women!
I applaud these ladies for their acoomplishments, and their well earned awards.
Gloria has some very good points, too.
I would recommend strongly, to any woman who has been belittled by other women, or men, in her life to get the book named Women Who Run With The Wolves. Read that book chapter by chapter carefully, and hopefully you can connect with some other women (thru the internet or otherwise), to discuss what you learn there. This book is designed to help any woman who has been taken advantage of to recognize, avoid (if need be), and to decide for herself that there will be an end to her being put down, used, or abused. There used to be a group of women on the internet about 10 years ago who read the book together, and discussed it. It helped many of us to be stronger, and more confident. It taught us how to get away from, and avoid in future, any "wolves" that might be around us.

send a green star

Jewels S.

6:42PM PDT on Oct 15, 2009

Gloria, I am interested in what you are saying about candida. I suffer from it and have not been able to shake it. My doctor gave me antibiotics for 5 years before I learned through the internet what it was doing to me. Reason we need SERIOUS Health care reform (not even close to what gov is trying to pass off) but I digress. Are you saying garlic helps the chronic version? Any where I can find more info/

Summer Luvin K.

5:13PM PDT on Oct 12, 2009

(continued from first comments by me)...

Instead, too many women are STILL totally complacent when it comes to standing up to the men in their lives - whether it's their fathers, husbands, children, bosses. Women still let men TELL them what they're good at, or how they look, or how they act.

On the "I'm a female" side, we definitely have advantages. BRAD C. did a great job in pointing out the things we have to our advantage. Great ones include: being the peacekeepers, & peacemakers (in our families)...just by mothering. We nurture, we negotiate, we advocate - and most of us do it without any paychecks or retirement to fall back on.

I worry that the generation that is discovering that holes are missing in our equality is the same generation who thought we didn't need women's (feminist) groups anymore....that we had everything that we could want and that we were on equal footing with a man. Ha! Gender bias is ongoing & very hard to work against! (Recent example: Hillary Clinton). Even Sarah Palin (whom I can't stand) was scrutinized by men who could never have done any better.

I guess I can say ....do not keep teaching & helping those women who can't for themselves, and GET ACTIVE in helping to promote women taking on new, different & important leadership roles!

P.S. You might start by joining active groups like UNIFEM, NOW, & the FEMINIST MAJORITY.

Time for women to start winning those prizes!!!

5:03PM PDT on Oct 12, 2009

the U.N. Development Fund for Women, has reported that women, on average, represent less than ten percent of peace negotiation teams?? If this is true, it's time every woman in this world should be joining this group and working hard at getting more women to be on negotiation committees & panels & boards! Power truly IS in numbers, and we (women) still are the most populous of the male/female ratio in the world!

Now, how do we do this? We begin by empowering our daughters/granddaughters into KNOWING that they are just as capable as any boy in their classes. I know by working in public elementary schools that at least 3/4's of a teacher's day is spent in CORRECTING the boys from misbehaving. Do I have facts on this? Uhmmm....only observation every day for many years!

Encouragement, solid role models in all kinds of careers, educating, actively participating, nominating & then winning is a good ladder to begin with for our daughters!

I do agree with any comment about women still be accepted and bullied into being 2nd. class citizens. And that isn't JUST in 3rd. world countries, but right here in the US! Why do we let men dominate us? What the heck?

I fear women are their own worse enemies! We DO have the numbers, we DO have the means, we DO have the smarts, we even have the power of sculpting the minds of the males we raise!

(continued)

Carol H.

7:50AM PDT on Oct 12, 2009

In my opinion women should win a lot more big prizes than men do because we have a lot more to do with life as it is today then men and that is a fact.
We have our heads on straight and we have better reasoning than men will ever have without women men are nothing. They most of their ideas from us but they just change the words around and it sounds like they got the ideas before we did but that is th e way I think.

David K.

11:34AM PDT on Oct 11, 2009

Congratulations on your big success. Hope to see more of you win the prize in the future

Brad C.

9:13AM PDT on Oct 11, 2009

These women along with all the women all over the world that are behind the scenes and not brought to the spotlight should be an inspiration to all females young and old. Many take the step out from under the dictatorship of man and show them they are more than just breeding receptacles and show them that they can think and reason in most cases better than the male gender. There are a lot of very intelligent and strong females in the world that set a good example for others that they too should stand up and unite for all good things. Take all this power and put it to good use and show the male gender that you can accomplish things that the male gender can't get done. It is high time women show the male leaders that they can solve the world problems and stop the destruction to mother nature that the strong testosterone driven males are causing.Women can think logically and reasonably without wars and fighting. They can solve world hunger and violence. I say stand up and show the male gender where they have gone wrong all these centuries. Band together and unite and work as large strong voice and send the message that enough is enough.Put man in his place for a change.This is just a simple mans opinion that is part of the peasant population of the dictatorship of America take it or leave it.

Christopher F.

9:08AM PDT on Oct 11, 2009

First of all, there will NEVER be gender equality, no matter how hard we try, as long as we have laws that give preference to a specific gender.
Laws like VAWA and our nations child support industries will ALWAYS be and have ALWAYS BEEN gender biased. Until the false belief of "privilege" based on gender (almost entirely to the exclusive benefit of women these days), that the law and courts support wholeheartedly, is eliminated and true equality is achieved, it will not matter how many men or women are given a fair shake by our systems or society; Gender equality can not be based on how many of which gender gets what promotion or what benefits.

It will only occur when benefits, promotions, hiring, firing, child custody, and a myriad of other things are based on facts, performance, etc., rather than using gender as part or all of the criteria to gain them.

Eliminate gender from the equation, entirely, and ONLY THEN will you have gender equality.

Gloria M.

8:34AM PDT on Oct 11, 2009

I feel compelled to address this issue and these posts.

First of all, as I taught my children, life has never been fair.

I believe that there are women who deserve the Nobel, however, I feel they have chosen the wrong women. There are already dozens of effective cures for cancer. To start checking this out, go to www.peopleagainstcancer.com. Cancer is big business and the millions of dollars that go to research are part of the sickness.

Antibiotics, a word which means "against life" are destructive. Almost everyone suffers from Candida, sometimes systemic, which is created by antibiotics and which is far worse than anything the antibiotics "destroyed." Antibiotics have created MRSA, a condition in which superbugs do not respond to any antibiotic. Much of MRSA responds to, guess what, garlic!!

The person who should have won the Nobel Peace Prize is Irena Sendler, a woman who smuggled hundreds of children out of the ghetto to freedom. She buried their names, along with the names of their parents, in jars so that they could be reunited if they survived the Holocaust. She was captured and brutally tortured, and was nominated for the Nobel but did not receive the award. Google her name for more information.

There are true heroines in our world and it is time to seek them out and reward them.

Carla S.

8:31AM PDT on Oct 11, 2009

Bruce V: Way to skew the focus way, way, way off! The Nobel Prize is a respected and venerable award, and the fact that you can only mumble sour grapes about our President is very telling.

These women who won are to be commended for their hard work and innovation, and lauded for being singled out in a world that is decisively tipped *against* them in all things. Women still earn less than men, still have to prove themselves over and above men, are still told that they 'can't' do various jobs, disciplines or studies simply because they are female.

So I say - congratulations to these four winners, and may their successes inform and uplift women across the globe!