Click on the photos to access the articles. Further biographies will follow in loose order.
When we look at the prizes and awards in chemistry, we almost only come across well-known men. Is chemistry a purely male domain? Certainly not today! But up to 2020, the Nobel Prizes awarded went to 782 men, 56 women (6.7%) and 28 organisations (excluding the Nobel Prize for Economics; source).
In chemistry, we count (as of 2020) seven female Nobel Prize winners (3.8%) out of a total of 185 - five of them in the last twelve years (source):
Carolyn Bertozzi (2022)
Emmanuelle Charpentier (2020)
Jennifer Doudna (2020)
Frances H. Arnold (2018)
Ada Yonath (2010)
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1964)
Irène Joliot-Curie (1935)
Marie Curie (1911)
Then there is Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard - a biologist and biochemist - who was honoured with the Nobel Prize in the Physiology/Medicine category in 1995 as the only German scientist to date.
We are currently seeing more and more women gaining international recognition for their scientific achievements. But it will be some time before prizes are named after them, as this usually only happens after their death.
Last year, in 2020, the GDCh awarded the Hildegard Hamm-Brücher Prize for Equal Opportunities in Chemistry , named after a woman for the first time - a clear commitment to more equal opportunities in chemistry
Even though chemistry has historically been dominated by men, there have always been women who were not intimidated by this. With a thirst for knowledge, tenacity and a dash of moral courage, they made their way in science, business, the civil service and politics. Despite some hostility, they were even recognised by the men they worked with - including Nobel Prize winners. It must be remembered that at the beginning of the 20th century, it was not yet socially common for women to graduate from high school, study and then practise their profession. Unfortunately, however, their achievements were not taken into account in honours such as the awarding of prizes or as namesakes.
To ensure that these first women in chemistry are not forgotten, Prof. Dr Eberhard Ehlers and Prof. Dr Heribert Offermanns have taken the initiative to honour them posthumously and present their exciting and diverse career paths in short portraits.
In 2003, the GDCh Working Group for Equal Opportunities in Chemistry (AKCC), led by its chairperson Dr Marion Hertel, published a brochure Chemikerinnen - es gab und es gibt sie with seven portraits and two interviews. But there are many more pioneering women who should be remembered.
The GDCh will now present these approximately 30 portraits of the first female chemists (born up to 1939) online on its website throughout 2021. Announcements in various channels will reach a broad readership and keep the topic alive throughout the year. Let yourself be impressed and inspired by the performance and enthusiasm of the early female chemists for their profession. The GDCh would like to thank the two authors and Prof Dr Barbara Albert, TU Darmstadt, for their conceptual advice.We hope you enjoy reading and discussing
Dr Hildegard Nimmesgern
Chair of the GDCh Equal Opportunities Commission
Dr Karin J. Schmitz
Head of GDCh Public Relations
January 2021
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The Senior Expert Chemists (SEC) of the GDCh collect experience reports, stories, anecdotes, pictures and contemporary documents on studying chemistry and choosing a career in the 1950s to 1980s. The contributions received so far can be found here.
Photo credits: see individual articles (click on photo)