A majority of people who study are women, yet men are at the top of academia. In order to illuminate and rectify this, a new award for female researchers has been established.
In 2014, 59% of students at Swedish Educational Institutions were female. In the top layers of academia, however, the situation looks a bit different: only one in four professors in Sweden is a woman.
An international collaboration between L’Oréal Sweden, the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO, and the Young Academy of Sweden is hoping to change that.
New award will aid female advancement
March 7, 2016 will therefore be the starting point of an award that is intended to increase the number of women striving to advance within academia.
On that date, the first yearly distribution of the award, L’Oréal-Unesco for Women in Science – for promising young women within academia, will take place. So far, great interest has been shown, and as many as 99 people have applied for it.
“This will be the beginning of a long-term advocacy to urge more women into entering academia”, says Per Magnusson, chairman of the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO.
He believes that this, together with targeted work on several levels, may lead to greater equality.
150,000SEK and mentoring program
The award will be given to women who are at the beginning of their researching careers. Two individuals will be awarded 150,000SEK each, and offered a one-year mentoring program, which is supposed to coach them in their respective field of study. The mentor program will be offered by the Young Academy of Sweden.
In the jury are two representatives from Lund University. One of them is Kristian Pietras, who is a professor of Molecular Medicine. He believes this competition will have a positive effect on the University.
He says that creating idols and changing the view on who can be a researcher will affect students both in Lund and on a national level. Furthermore, he thinks that a more equal research team will increase creativity and efficiency.
“We want to create role models and show that it is possible to succeed as a woman within academia”, says Kristian Pietras, Professor at Lund University and board member of the Young Academy of Sweden.
Text by: Rebecca Bornlid
Translation: Elise Petersson
