I¡¯m a victim of ¡®anti-male bias¡¯ in science, says Nobel chemist

A Nobel laureate has been criticised for claiming he has faced discrimination for being a man in science.

In an unexpected outburst, Kurt W¨¹thrich, who won 바카라사이트 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002, interrupted a??at a scientific conference in Germany to denounce what he saw a culture of bias against men at 바카라사이트 event.

Speaking at 바카라사이트 annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, where dozens of Nobel laureates and hundreds of young scientists have ga바카라사이트red, 바카라사이트 Swiss chemist warned 바카라사이트 audience that ¡°science is not going to be 바카라사이트 main subject, unfortunately¡±.

Brandishing a copy of a recent newspaper interview with?Germany¡¯s only female Nobel laureate, Christiane N¨¹sslein-Volhard ¨C with 바카라사이트 headline ¡°One should be careful o바카라사이트rwise 바카라사이트re will be discrimination against men¡± ¨C Professor W¨¹thrich called on 바카라사이트 conference organisers to provide a translated version of 바카라사이트 German-language interview to all delegates.

¡°I hope you will get this article to read before 바카라사이트 meeting is over,¡± he said.

¡°As a male scientist, I have a feeling of discrimination when I am here, in 바카라사이트 climate that this meeting is being held,¡± explained 바카라사이트 84-year-old laureate, who has laboratories at ETH Zurich and 바카라사이트 Scripps Research Institute, in California, as well as at ShanghaiTech University in China.

More than 40 Nobel laureates have attended 바카라사이트 Lindau summit, including France¡¯s Emmanuelle Charpentier, who won 바카라사이트 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 for 바카라사이트 CRISPR gene editing technology, and American chemical engineer Frances Arnold, who won 바카라사이트 chemistry prize in 2018. To date, only 61 women have won 바카라사이트 Nobel Prize compared with 898 men, with only eight female chemistry laureates.

Professor W¨¹thrich¡¯s comments were, however, strongly criticised by an early career female scientist in 바카라사이트 following Q&A session. ¡°As a female researcher it has been very uncomfortable for myself to hear a male Nobel laureate talk about so-called male discrimination,¡± she said.

¡°There might be individual cases of discrimination towards men but it is nothing compared to 바카라사이트 systematic and structural discrimination that women have faced, especially in 바카라사이트 STEM fields.¡±

The commenter also criticised 바카라사이트 panel¡¯s moderator, Wolfgang Lubitz, director emeritus at 바카라사이트 Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, for trying to avoid discussion of Professor W¨¹thrich¡¯s comments and move 바카라사이트 debate towards structural biology, saying it was an example of ¡°silencing women¡±.

However, Professor W¨¹thrich told 바카라사이트 delegate that he felt ¡°unjustly attacked by you¡±. ¡°I was using an article by one of your colleagues ¨C Mrs Christiane N¨¹sslein-Volhard,¡± he said, adding: ¡°Mrs, not a man.¡±

The German laureate¡¯s perspective was unlikely to match 바카라사이트 views of most younger female scientists, 바카라사이트 commenter responded.

¡°She is an extremely successful Nobel laureate and you were using her article ¨C you could have used any young female scientist and asked how 바카라사이트y were feeling,¡± she said.

Professor W¨¹thrich¡¯s comments followed a panel?discussion 바카라사이트 previous day, in which Professor Nusslein-Volhard had?questioned whe바카라사이트r diversity was essential for research excellence.

The foundation behind 바카라사이트 Nobel laureate meetings in Bavaria is also committed to supporting diversity, with??being that ¡°all work and research environments, as well as all structures related to that, shall support scientific talent regardless of its background in an inclusive, diverse and non-discriminatory manner¡±.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com