The Nobel Prize for women: when a woman's intelligence wins
The Nobel is not a prize for women. A strong statement, but undeniable if we consider that 856 men and only 52 women won the prize established by Alfred Nobel on November 27, 1895. The gender gap it spares no sector, much less the most prestigious award that can be aspired to. The positive fact is that, over the years, the number of women awarded the Nobel has increased. This variation is due to the constantly evolving historical and social context, for which, fortunately, an increasing number of women have had access to the academic and scientific sectors. Suffice it to say that until 1971 in America there was a law such that female scientists were forbidden to work in the same research centers as their husbands, thus finding themselves at a crossroads: career or family. Furthermore, mainly in the scientific field, many awards have retroactive value, i.e. they are awarded on the basis of discoveries and experiments dating back to previous decades, it being necessary to wait years before verifying their long-term effects. The problem is that, thirty or forty years ago, the women in the workshops were, metaphorically speaking, mere white flies.
Our hope is that, in the years to come, the number of women Nobel Prize winners will increase so much as to arrive, I do not say to exceed, but at least to equalize that of men. Utopia? In this regard, the speech given by the biophysicist Rosalyn Yalow while, in 1977, she received the Nobel Prize for Medicine deserves a mention:
"The inability of women to reach leadership positions is largely due to social and professional discrimination [..] we must believe in ourselves or no one will believe in us; we must fuel our aspirations with the competence, courage and determination to succeed; and we must feel the personal responsibility to make the journey easier for those who will come later ”. Now it is up to us to carry out this mission.
Despite the bitter reflection, with the hope that things can change in the direction of greater equity, we want to remember all the times in which the Nobel Prize has been dyed pink, they mention a winning woman for each of the six categories provided. These are examples that demonstrate the important goals they can aspire to and that female intelligences can achieve.
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Marie Curie, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1903
Marie Curie was the first woman to receive this honorable recognition. A Polish scientist of humble origins, she is so passionate about studying that, not having access to high school for women in Poland, thanks to the financial support of her older sister, she moved to Paris where she graduated in physics in 1893. The results achieved are so commendable that it was the mother country that awarded her a prize, allowing her to also graduate in mathematics. Together with her husband Pierre Curie, professor of industrial physics and chemistry, she closes herself in a rudimentary laboratory where, with constant dedication, she discovers two new radioactive elements in addition to uranium, polonium and radium. This discovery earned her the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics and a post as research director at the Sorbonne. After her husband's death, she was asked to replace him and thus became the first female teacher at the prestigious Parisian university. In 1911 she was awarded again, this time for chemistry.
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Grazia Deledda, Nobel Prize for Literature, 1926
Between the two world wars, a writer from the bourgeoisie of Nuoro wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. At the age of 17 she sent her first novel, “Sangue sardo”, to the magazine “Ultima Moda” and, once she moved to Rome, she began to frequent literary salons, coming into contact with the prominent personalities of the time. She is the first Italian woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize and, so far, the only one in Italy to have won the prize in the literary category.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1964
Born in 1910, it shows a certain avant-garde interest in chemistry since the age of 10. In 1932 he graduated from Oxford, after which he concentrated on the study of insulin and hemoglobin. Thanks to his contribution, the University of Oxford X-rayed insulin, a fundamental operation for modern biology. Among the biomolecules whose structure Hodgkin determines is penicillin, the first antibiotic in history, succeeding where others had not before it. Her work is finally recognized on the occasion of the 1964 Nobel Prize award which sees her winner in the field of chemistry for research on vitamin B-12 and discoveries on biological molecules. This woman was not only active in the laboratory, but also in the civil field, personally fighting for the right to study and obtaining peace in the world.
Rita Levi Montalcini, Nobel Prize for Medicine, 1986
The Italian scientist lived 103 years, witnessing the tricolor history in all its beauties and horrors. She was the first woman to be admitted to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and, since 2001, she has been a Senator for life "for having illustrated the homeland with outstanding scientific and social merits". Thanks to his research in the medical field, in 1986 he obtained the Nobel Prize for Medicine. In particular, Montalcini was able to identify some molecules, known as Ngf, fundamental in embryonic development, which later proved useful in some treatments for Alzheimer's. He also founded a European brain research institute, with a particular focus on multiple sclerosis.
Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize, 2014
“A child, a teacher and a book can change the world” is the motto of Malala who, at 17, was the youngest winner of a Nobel Prize. Her civil commitment began at the tender age of 14 when, through a blog, the Pakistani girl courageously took a stand against the work of the Taliban who want to deny girls the right to education. For this reason, in 2012 he was the victim of an attack by a group of fundamentalists. Malala is saved and is transferred to a hospital in Birmingham, a city that will become her new home. In 2014 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for her fight against the oppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education".
Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize in Economics, 2019
We have finally come to the present day when Esther Duflo is awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics together with her husband Abhijit Banerjee and the US economist Michael Kremer for their commitment in the fight against poverty in the world. Her attention is mainly focused on India, a developing country to which her husband is also a native. Esther contributed to the foundation of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, a research laboratory on poverty, inspired by an ideal of women empowerment aimed at supporting small businesses run by women, fundamental in terms of both economic and social development. as well as rebirth.
