2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation awardees take on ESOF

July 12, 2022

Their journey to the awards ceremony and through Leiden.

Our six 2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation awardees were announced in February on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and have had the opportunity to speak at conferences including the AAAS Annual Meeting in February and the International Conference on Gender Action and Climate Change in March. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it was not until July that the right opportunity arose to hold an in-person awards ceremony to honor them, at the EuroScience Open Forum in Leiden, the Netherlands, from 13-16 July 2022. 

The awardees were presented with their awards during a special session on Thursday, July 14, from 11:15-12:30. A half hour awards ceremony was followed by a panel discussion on 'The Braided River: Women in science, careers and recognition', where they explored the often nonlinear journeys that define the careers of many women researchers, and talked about which criteria may be best used to define and recognize exceptional achievements for women and for all scientists. 

In the days leading up to and following the awards ceremony, the awardees also had the chance to attend the ESOF conference as well as the European Conference of Science Journalism, to take part in a workshop on 'Embedding sex and gender dimensions in research' led by Elizabeth Pollitzer, to network at a special dinner organized by Elsevier, and to visit their national embassies in the Netherlands. We documented their journey here as they prepared for the ceremony and during their other activities. Enjoy these highlights from their trip to Leiden!