The Nobel Foundation needs to check its privilege

Editorial| Volume 392, ISSUE 10154, P1168, October 06, 2018 The Lancet Published:October 06, 2018DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32359-6 Info Figures Of the 216 Nobel Prizes for Physiology or Medicine laureates to date, only 12 are women. It could be argued that some of the bias is due to historical imbalance; the scientific community has only started to recognise that poor diversity limits the breadth of scientific findings in the past 10 years. But that is discounting that institutional discrimination, which still affects scientific institutions, might also be pervasive in the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine's selection process. The extent of the procedural bias is difficult to assess because the Nobel Foundation's statutes restrict disclosure of information about the Prize's nominations and selection processes for 50 years. What is clear, however, is that the Nobel Laureates are selected by an assembly made up of 50 full professors of the Karolinska Institutet—the overwhelming majority of whom are men who maintain their memberships as long as they are employed. In an attempt to improve their nomination process, the Nobel Committee has been inviting more women and young scientists to nominate candidates. It has also changed the way it formulates its invitation letter. Many deplore that this is not enough of a commitment to progress, and puts the onus on female scientists to drive the change. Some debate the purpose of medical awards celebrating the success of individuals. They claim that they are anachronistic at a time when collaborative research should be prioritised. Maybe these awards can still serve to inspire young scientists, as long as the image of scientific excellence they reflect is not one that rewards privilege but one that addresses its class, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender, and other biases. To become a driver towards this new image of research rather than a passive contributor to systematic prejudice, the Nobel Foundation might need to reform its processes and put those who are under-represented in charge of the Laureate selection. Amending the Nobel Foundation statutes that restrict transparency of the nomination process would go a long way towards making these barriers to access visible to all. Figure thumbnail fx1 Figure View Large Image Copyright © 2018 Fredrik Naumann/Panos Pictures Article Info Publication History Published: 06 October 2018 IDENTIFICATION DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32359-6 Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ScienceDirect Access this article on ScienceDirect Figures Figure thumbnail fx1 Figure Copyright © 2018 Fredrik Naumann/Panos Pictures