2020 Nobel laureates: honored women but the prizes are not yet diverse

Out of 931 people and 28 organizations that have won the award since the awards began, only 16 are black. No black winners were named in 2020.

Twelve black people have won the Peace Prize, three the Nobel Prize for Literature, and one the Associate Prize in Economics awarded by the Swedish central bank in honor of Alfred Nobel. No black recipient has ever won one of the science awards.

On Monday, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, which led to the development of tests and treatments.

Tuesday’s Physics award went to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel, and Andrea Ghez for their discoveries about black holes. Ghez became the fourth woman to win a Nobel Prize in physics.

While the number of female science winners may be slowly improving, the diversity problem is even worse when it comes to race.

“The problems start early on in the economy, schooling, prejudice,” Marc Zimmer, a chemistry professor at Connecticut College, told CNN. “Starting in elementary school.

“I think the problem really with the lack of racial diversity is not a problem of the Nobel laureates, but rather a systemic social problem.”

The lack of diversity in science can lead to a lack of information on certain demographics, he added. “To do really good science, we need everyone’s input, not just 30 or 40% of the population.”

“I think what matters is who is nominating and who is in the room,” said Patricia Matthew, associate professor of English at Montclair State University, who has written on racial diversity in higher education and popular culture. “I also think that part of the challenge is not understanding or appreciating the impact of the work that Blacks, Africans, Afro-descendants have, the impact of their work globally.”

Matthew said he thought Glück was “phenomenal,” but said the world could improve if black writers like Sonia Sánchez, Amiri Baraka or Rita Dove received worldwide recognition from an organization like Nobel. “If you see people who look like you succeeding globally, it’s easier to dream that you can make a contribution,” he added.

The statutes of the Nobel Foundation restrict the disclosure of information about nominations for 50 years.

CNN has reached out to the Nobel laureates for comment, but has yet to receive a response.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences provided a commentary written by its president in the journal Nature in 2019.

He said the Nobel Committee made “substantial efforts to reach out to research universities around the world,” but that “the uneven distribution of Nobel prizes is a symptom of a larger problem” with science dominated by Western Europe and North America. .

Hansson noted that less than 15% of the lead authors in Nature are women and only 2% of the authors were from Africa, South America, or Western Asia. She said the process strives to ensure “that all scientists have a fair chance,” but others must also work to improve the situation by encouraging women to pursue scientific careers and supporting research in low-income countries.

“The award should reflect the world we live in now,” said Matthew. “I think that as a main award I should want to honor and reflect the best in the world, not just a small subset.

“I think if it’s a global award, it should reflect global cultures, reading and elevating the work of people who write in different languages, who speak of the global condition in different ways.”