How 3 women scientists have overcome gender bias and stereotypes in astronomy, genetics and mathematics
- Planetary astronomer Jane Luu, geneticist Huda Zoghbi and mathematician Hélène Esnault show they can excel in fields dominated by men
- The Shaw Prize winners and members of the award selection committees say society must help encourage more women to pursue – and remain – in science
The presence of women in science should be normalised today, but research shows there is still some catching up to do. According to the Unesco Institute of Statistics’ data, focused on women working in science, fewer than 30 per cent of the world’s research scientists are women.
The South China Morning Post interviews three renowned women scientists – planetary astronomer Jane Luu and geneticist Huda Zoghbi, who are both Shaw Prize winners, and mathematician Hélène Esnault, who is a Shaw Prize judge.
The trio reveal how they have established successful careers in their chosen areas of expertise, despite challenges that come from being women working in fields dominated by men.
The accidental astronomer
The Vietnamese-born planetary astronomer Professor Jane Luu, of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at Norway’s University of Oslo, was the first woman to become a Shaw Laureate in 2012 after jointly receiving the Shaw Prize in Astronomy with British astronomer Professor David Jewitt, of University of California, Los Angeles, in the United States.
They were honoured for their discovery and characterisation of the Kuiper Belt, a doughnut-shaped ring of icy objects beyond the planets. The Belt is a relic from the formation of the Solar System, consisting of material that never coalesced into planets.
