The 2020 Nobel Prizes

Written by: Angela Huang

Graphics by: Josephine Ding

The Nobel Prize is considered by many as one of the most prestigious awards in the world. They were established by Alfred Nobel who wanted to dedicate his wealth to recognize “those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind (1).” The Nobel Prize winners are called “laureates,” and they receive a medal, a diploma, a monetary award, and global recognition for their contributions (2). The first prizes were awarded in 1901 and there are now 6 categories each year: chemistry, economics, peace, literature, physics, and physiology or medicine (2). As a science centred blog here at Bite-Sized, we’ll be focusing on those recognized for their contributions in science in 2020!

Around the globe, people were excited to celebrate the chemistry award being received by two women— Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna. Despite his achievement, the Nobel Prizes continue to have a diversity issue with a lack of women and Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), but especially Black people of colour recognized within the awards.

Here’s a figure to represent all the science laureates across all years:

And here’s the proportion of women that are science laureates:

Here’s the figure represent all the science laureates again:

And here’s the proportion of Black scientists that are science laureates:

Wait is that picture not loading? No. A Black scientist has never won a Nobel Prize in the sciences (7), from the first Nobel prize that was ever awarded over 100 years ago to now. Women and BIPOC are extremely underrepresented within STEM as a whole, and especially within the awards as seen with these figures.

A study from 2015 by Pallavi Amitava Banerjee identified factors that contribute to barriers that prevent students from entering and staying in STEM fields in the first place (8). These barriers faced disproportionately by women and BIPOC are rooted in our education system and reflect many societal shortcomings.

Neighborhood effects

• High poverty areas that tend to house more BIPOC have less learning resources available in their schools, and higher risk of drug abuse among youths.

Lack of Role Models

• Having less role models displayed within STEM fields, means that students and youth don’t see themselves represented. Relatable role models are important to show that there are possible paths to success in stem.

Lack of Family Involvement

• In low-income families, parents and guardians are less likely to engage in educational activities with their children, which has a negative impact on academic achievement.

Discrimination

• Minorities are more likely to face discrimination and micoaggressions, which predict higher rates of mental health issues and lack of motivation, ultimately affecting academic outcomes.

Why is it important to have minorities represented in science?

A lack of diversity within the sciences means gaining fewer perspectives, and learning less about issues that matter to certain communities. For example, endometriosis is a painful disorder that occurs when endometrial tissue grows outside of the uterus, and affects an estimated 10% of assigned females (9). Despite its prevalence, the disorder has been heavily under researched with limited knowledge surrounding how it works, and possible treatments. This is a result of a lack of perspective from minorities whose voices need to be heard to target issues specific to their communities that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Hearing the voices of women and BIPOC requires mitigating the socioeconomic barriers that prevent them from entering the field, and working to recognize them within our awards to act as role models for future generations and inspire a new wave of scientists.

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References

1. Alfred Nobel's will [Internet]. NobelPrize.org. [cited 2020Dec27]. Available from: https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobels-will/

2. Nobel Prize facts [Internet]. NobelPrize.org. [cited 2020Dec27]. Available from: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/nobel-prize-facts/

3. Charpentier E. CRISPR ‐Cas9: how research on a bacterial RNA ‐guided mechanism opened new perspectives in biotechnology and biomedicine. EMBO Molecular Medicine. 2015;7(4):363–5.

4. Penrose R. Black holes, quantum theory and cosmology. Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 2009;174:012001.

5. Abuter R, Amorim A, Anugu N, Bauböck M, Benisty M, Berger JP, et al. Detection of the gravitational redshift in the orbit of the star S2 near the Galactic centre massive black hole. Astronomy & Astrophysics. 2018;615.

6. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020 [Internet]. NobelPrize.org. [cited 2020Dec27]. Available from: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/press-release/

7. All Nobel Prizes [Internet]. NobelPrize.org. [cited 2020Dec27]. Available from: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes/

8. Banerjee PA, Lamb S. A systematic review of factors linked to poor academic performance of disadvantaged students in science and maths in schools. Cogent Education. 2016;3(1):1178441.

9. Rogers PAW, D'hooghe TM, Fazleabas A, Gargett CE, Giudice LC, Montgomery GW, et al. Priorities for Endometriosis Research: Recommendations From an International Consensus Workshop. Reproductive Sciences. 2009;16(4):335–46.