idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
The German Chemical Society (GDCh) has honored the project 'Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) - an international network supporting equality, diversity and inclusion within supramolecular chemistry' with the Hildegard Hamm Brücher Prize for Equal Opportunities in Chemistry. The team led by Junior Professor Dr. Anna McConnell, University of Siegen, will receive the award on September 4 at the opening event of the GDCh Science Forum (WiFo) Chemistry in Leipzig.
Women have fewer opportunities for continued employment or even advancement in the chemical sciences. They more often receive short-term, precarious contracts, publish less, and are cited less often. Disproportionately fewer women serve on editorial boards, are nominated for awards, and file patent applications. In 2018, a study by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) showed that many talented women leave academic careers before reaching their full potential. Previous measures to counter this, it said, have not been sufficient to ever achieve gender parity.
This is where the award-winning project comes in: WISC aims to create an international community and access to resources for all supramolecular chemists. In addition, the project supports the career retention and advancement of all those who identify as women at every career stage and seeks to remove potential barriers. In doing so, it is important to the WISC team to take action themselves to bring about change, rather than just addressing it. Using an online survey, the network identified the needs of the supramolecular community. Based on the results, the network developed numerous supporting initiatives, such as a mentoring network, community clusters to build peer communities, and workshops on inclusion and diversity for young scientists.
The award's selection committee sees the WISC initiative as a "beacon with radiance beyond supramolecular chemistry." It said the project exemplifies how dedicated female chemists have successfully and sustainably joined forces to form an international network alongside their professional commitments in order to achieve greater equality of opportunity and inclusion. With their tireless commitment and their values for more equal opportunities, the team demonstrates a consistent attitude that also characterizes Hildegard Hamm-Brücher.
The GDCh has been awarding the Hildegard Hamm-Brücher Prize for Equal Opportunities in Chemistry since 2021. With the prize, which is endowed with 7500 euros, the GDCh wants to set a visible example and honor exemplary commitment to equal opportunities in chemistry. Hildegard Hamm-Brücher (1921-2016) was a chemist and received her doctorate in 1945 from Nobel Prize winner Professor Heinrich Wieland in Munich. After the end of the war, she became science editor at the Neue Zeitung. There she met Theodor Heuss, her political mentor, and many other democratically minded people. Hildegard Hamm-Brücher was considered the "grande dame" of post-war German politics. She stood not only for freedom and democracy, but also for consistent value-oriented action. She fought tirelessly against grievances. Among other things, she campaigned for a better education system and encouraged women to become more involved. In 1994, she became the first woman to be nominated for the office of Federal President. In addition to her public offices, she showed great social commitment and received numerous honors.
With around 30,000 members, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) is one of the largest chemical societies in the world. Every two years, it organizes the GDCh Science Forum (WiFo) Chemistry at different venues in Germany. WiFo 2023 will take place under the motto "Rethinking Chemistry" from September 4 to 6, 2023, at the KONGRESSHALLE am Zoo in Leipzig. Participants can expect a varied program of plenary lectures, main symposia, a poster and an industrial exhibition. In addition, numerous prestigious awards will be given. Registration is available at https://www.wifo2023.de.
http://www.wifo2023.de
http://www.gdch.de
The award-winning team (from top left to right): Jennifer Hiscock, Anna McConnell, Claudia Caltagiro ...
Photos: private/ BarbaraFrommann-UniBonn
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