It was 2 a.m. on October 6, 2020. Andrea Ghez was fast asleep. Suddenly, her phone started to ring. Ghez was confused. Who would call at this hour? It was the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. They had big news for Ghez, who is a physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles. She had just won a Nobel Prize in physics!
The Nobel Prize recognizes “work or ideas that have had an impact on humanity,” says Ghez. She won for finding a supermassive black hole! It’s at the center of our galaxy.
The Nobel Prize has three science categories. They are physics, chemistry, and medicine. Since 1901, 649 people have received a Nobel Prize in science. That includes only 25 women. For a long time, women were discouraged or barred from becoming scientists. Women scientists still experience discrimination because of their gender. They often must fight harder than men to get recognized for their research.
Women have made groundbreaking contributions to science. They discovered new elements and figured out the structure of molecules. Women created a tool that can edit genes, units of hereditary material. And they won Nobel Prizes for these accomplishments. “These women are inspirational,” says Ghez. The number of women Nobel winners has risen in recent years. But more men still tend to win than women. Read more about the Nobel Prize and the amazing women scientists who have won it.