The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the L’Oréal Foundation concluded the activities of their annual conference honoring scientific women in the field of science 2018, which was launched on March 21 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. This honor comes as a culmination of a major scientific conference organized by the two institutions to review the research and achievements of prominent scientific women, and shed light on 15 talented young scientific specialists. These events also provide an opportunity to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Women in Science Program. UNESCO stated, in a statement, that women do not enjoy adequate representation in public and professional life, especially in the field of science, and that the percentage of women does not exceed 28% of the number of scientists, and the percentage of those who have won the Nobel Prize for Science is 3% of the number of winners, since the establishment of this award in 1901. It stressed the presence of many prominent female scientists, whose personalities must be highlighted as a vital matter for promoting greater gender equality in the field of science, noting that UNESCO and the L’Oréal Foundation have Every year, for the past 20 years, we have honored five female scientists, as well as taking measures to improve the balance between women and men in science. She added that each of these female scientists will receive a prize worth 100,000 euros, and they will be honored for their contributions to the fields of medicine, paleontology, molecular biology, ecology and developmental biology. She pointed out that over the past 20 years, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Program has highlighted 102 laureates and provided support to more than 3,000 young female scientific professionals, resulting in them gaining greater recognition within the scientific community. Three of these winners have won the Nobel Prize in Science. UNESCO indicated that in order to further enhance the status of these women in the field of science, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Program works to raise public awareness of their achievements. This program launched an international communications campaign on this topic at seven international airports (Paris, New York, Beijing, London, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg) and on the streets of Paris, in partnership with JCDecaux and the Paris Airports Authority.
