25/05/2023

Applications are now open for the 'Women in Science' award 2023.

The " For Women in Science " award , which recognizes female participation in the field with a grant of R$ 50,000 for each selected researcher, is open for applications until July 17th. In its 18th edition in the country, the program will award seven researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Mathematics with the grant, which serves as an incentive to continue their studies.

The initiative by L'Oréal, in partnership with UNESCO and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC), is carried out annually with the aim of promoting gender balance in the Brazilian scientific landscape.

According to the latest UNESCO Science Report, women represent approximately 33% of global researchers and less than 4% of Nobel Prize laureates. In Brazil, the representation of women in leadership positions in the field of Science and Technology is between 0% and 2%, according to the latest UNESCO-British Council report from 2021.

“The implementation of the 'For Women in Science' program is an opportunity to fully and equally promote access to science and the participation of women in this field. Gender equality is a global priority for UNESCO, and encouraging women in their full training and skills development is a fundamental condition for ensuring a more equal future and achieving sustainable development,” says the director and representative of UNESCO in Brazil, Marlova Jovchelovitch Noleto.

The winners will be announced during the second half of this year. To participate, candidates must have completed their doctorate on or after January 1, 2015. For women with one child, the deadline is extended by one year, and for those with two or more children, the additional deadline is two years.

In addition, the scientist must have permanent residency in Brazil, develop research projects at national institutions, among other requirements. The complete regulations and more information about the program are available on the website.

Over the past 18 years, the For Women in Science program has recognized and encouraged 117 Brazilian scientists, rewarding the relevance of their work with the distribution of more than R$ 5 million in grants.

IMPA researchers have already received awards.

A specialist in complex algebraic geometry, IMPA researcher Carolina Araujo was one of the Brazilian scientists awarded the "For Women in Science" prize in 2008. Also a researcher at the institute, Luna Lomonaco was honored in the 2018 edition. Luna specializes in dynamical systems.

In the last edition, data scientist Daiane Aparecida Zuanetti , a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos (Ufscar), was the winner in the mathematics category. Zuanetti's project researches effective and efficient statistical methods for describing trends and making predictions from genetic data, analyzing RNA sequences found in single cells—that is, cells analyzed individually, not en masse.