Several weeks ago, we had a class discussion about the Nobel Prize and whether or not we should continue to give out the distinction, especially when so many people make such great contributions. I felt that there is nothing wrong with the prize itself and recognizing people for their accomplishments, but I wish it was given to more people. At the very least, I wish there was more diversity among the recipients. And as the 2019 Nobel Prizes have been given out, I am saddened to see that only one woman won a prize this year. Upon further investigation, I found that compared to 866 men, only 53 women have been awarded Nobel prizes, 19 of which being in science fields. These numbers are alarming. For every woman, there are approximately 16 men who have won a Nobel Prize. Focusing on the sciences, the ratio is 1:68.66 in physics, 1:35.8 in chemistry and 1:17.25 in physiology or medicine. These ratios, especially those in physics are deeply saddening but indicative of how the greater society generally views women in science.
But why do we automatically envision a man when we think of scientists? Are women not meant to be in science fields? The answer to the second question should obviously be no, but the first question is a little bit more complex. Our society, both national and global, has favored men virtually forever, excluding the period where humans were hunter-gatherers. Women are seen as less intelligent than men and are only pictured in certain fields which are lower-risk than those of men. For instance, there are plenty of female doctors in comparison to male doctors but male surgeons far outweigh female surgeons. But I think the strikingly uneven distribution of male and female Nobel laureates exposes a deeper issue when it comes to female representation in science. Many people know of Rosalind Franklin’s story and how her work earned a Nobel Prize in Medicine but for James Watson and Francis Crick and not herself. This is a phenomenon that occurs much more often than one would think, the most basic and popular being that a woman’s idea would not get noticed unless a man heard and said it louder (without giving credit of course). I can only imagine how many Nobel prizes have been given to men who simply said it louder.
But we as citizens of the world have the ability to change some of this. We need to expose more girls at younger ages to science and technology fields. Instead of letting society decide where a woman should go, we should give young girls more autonomy when it comes to the field they end up in. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with fields that are not science related, there are many girls and women that I know of now who would have excelled in STEM fields if they were given the resources to. But more than that, we need to give them the confidence and courage to continue in these fields despite adversity. Frankly, having so few women be represented as Nobel laureates is unacceptable. How can we inspire girls to go into science if even the most prestigious awards say they are not preferred?