Leading female scientists will be awarded scientific heirlooms by their peers at the fifth Suffrage Science awards for Life Sciences on 6th June 2018.
A hundred years after the first women in Britain got the vote, women still only make up 23% of those working in core science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupations in the UK.
The Suffrage Science scheme was initiated by Professor Dame Amanda Fisher, Director of the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (MRC LMS) in 2011 to celebrate and inspire women in science.
Professor Dame Amanda Fisher, Director of the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences says:
“Now in its seventh year, these heirlooms create a self-perpetuating network of talent and contacts to help others succeed in science. This year’s awardees join a community of over 100 women scientists. Since 2011 the awards have travelled from the UK, across Europe to the USA, Hong Kong and now to Australia, illustrating the international nature of science and the global effort to improve female representation.”
On 6 June 2018, 11 female scientists from across the world will be presented with hand-crafted jewellery at the Suffrage Science awards ceremony, held at the Academy of Medical Sciences, London. The awards celebrate women in science and encourage others to enter science and reach senior leadership roles.
The 11 awardees are chosen by the previous award holders for their scientific achievements and ability to inspire others. The awards themselves are items of jewellery, inspired by the Suffrage movement, and are passed on as heirlooms from one female scientist to the next. The heirloom items of jewellery were created by art students from Central St Martins-UAL, who worked with scientists to design pieces inspired by research and the Suffragette movement, from which the award scheme takes its name.
The 2018 Life Sciences Awardees are:
Professor Cathy Price (UCL)
Professor Rebecca Voorhees (Caltech)
Professor Claire Rougeulle (Paris Diderot University)
Professor Denise Head (Washington University in St Louis)
Professor Jenny Martin (Griffith Institute of Drug Discovery)
Professor Anna Wu (UCLA)
Professor Mikala Egeblad (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories)
Professor Irene Miguel-Aliaga (MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences)
Professor Anat Mirelman (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre)
Professor Liz Bradbury (King's College London)
Susan M Gaines (Bremen University)
Alongside the awards, science writer and broadcaster Vivienne Parry will lead a discussion on Women in Science- Then and Now. Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of Suffragette Emeline Pankhurst, will discuss her new book Deeds Not Words: The Story of Women’s Rights – Then and Now, while Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies and ScienceGrrl Director Dr Anna Zecharia, will share their insights on the current landscape for women in science, explore why change is taking so long and discuss how to make a difference for women in the future.
This article was originally published here.