ScienceNot yet confirmed elsewhere1 publisher2 min readPublished
Nature urges Nobel bodies to widen who nominates after men took every 2026 science and economics prize
Nature says the Nobel bodies should widen who is invited to nominate, after men won every 2026 chemistry, physics, medicine and economics prize. Its case turns on the invitation letters, and the counts it cites are too small to show whether the 2018 outreach worked.
The Scientist · Science desk
Key figures per Nature: seven women won science Nobels in 2019-2026, against four in 2011-2018. Women are some 40% of the nominators invited by letter after the 2018 move to widen nominations.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women awarded science Nobels, 2019-2026 | 7 women | 5 | |
| Women winners, 2011-2018 | 4 women | 6 | |
| Women among invited nominators, some | 40% | after 2018, letters to more universities | 11 |
What happened
- Women took two other 2026 prizes: Navanethem Pillay won the Peace Prize on 9 October and Anne Carson the literature prize the day before.
- A representative of the committees told Nature that members care deeply about the imbalance and are determined to see change.
- In 2018 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences wrote to eligible nominators, asking more women to propose candidates and asking all to weigh gender, geography and topic.
- Under the statutes Nature cites, direct nominators are limited to previous laureates, professors in five Nordic countries, academy members and committee members.
- Other senior scientists can nominate only once one of the awarding bodies has sent their institution a formal invitation letter.
Why it matters
- decision The Nobel bodies can accept help from university and scientific networks that, Nature says, offered in 2024 to work with them on widening nominations.
- exposure Nature says the awarding bodies face growing pressure and attempts at interference from governments, and argues that is a further reason to build global alliances.
- capability Organisers of newer prizes for women and other under-represented researchers have experience the Nobel bodies could draw on, according to Nature.
The counts behind the editorial are small, and one of them can be read two ways. Nature reports that science Nobels went to seven women from 2019 to 2026 [5], against four in 2011-2018 and five in 2003-2010 [6]. That is three and two more [17]. Yet four of the eight recent years had no women among the winners [5], which is half of them [18], and 2026 follows clean sweeps for men, most recently in 2021 and 2024 [3].
For the two earlier periods, Nature says there were five years in which only men won [7]. The wording allows five in each period or five across both. Five of 16 years is about 31%, and five of eight is about 63% [19]. On the combined reading the recent record is worse than the earlier one on this measure. On the per-period reading it is better.
The letters are the part of the pool the bodies choose themselves, since they come from the prize-awarding bodies [10]. After the 2018 outreach, letters went to more universities worldwide, and women now make up some 40% of this group of nominators, Nature says [11]. It wrote that this "bodes well for the future" [12]. The thing this doesn't tell you is how many of the people nominated are women. The 40% is a share of nominators.
Nature stops short of calling the process the cause. It wrote that one barrier to more rapid change "could be the nominations process itself" [15]. The sequence is suggestive: outreach in 2018 [8], then more women among laureates [17]. A gap of two or three laureates between eight-year periods is thin ground for crediting a letter campaign. The statutes Nature cites are the academy's for chemistry and physics and the Karolinska Institute's for physiology or medicine [16], so the economics prize, which also went to men, sits outside the mechanism the editorial describes.
We think the letters are the right place to look, because the bodies send them and so control that part of the pool. We would hold the causal claim until there is a count of nominees to set beside the count of nominators.
What to watch
- Whether the Nobel bodies take up the networks' offer and send invitation letters to a wider set of universities.
- Whether the committees report the share of women among nominees, to set beside the 40% share among nominators.
- Whether women appear among the 2027 science laureates, keeping in mind that eight-year counts of five, four and seven are too small to settle the question.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence50
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay on 9 October, and the previous day the Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Anne Carson.
- [2]
All of the 2026 prizewinners in chemistry, economics, physics and physiology or medicine are men.
- [3]
The absence of women from the economics and science categories this year echoes previous clean sweeps for men, most recently in 2021 and 2024.
- [4]
One of the committees' representatives told Nature that committee members care deeply about the imbalance and are determined to see change.
- [5]
Between 2019 and 2026, science Nobels were awarded to seven women, and there were four years in which no prizewinners were women.
- [6]
In 2011-2018 the science Nobel winners included four women; in the preceding period, 2003-2010, it was five.
- [7]
During the previous two sets of eight years (2011-2018 and 2003-2010), there were five years in which only men won prizes.
- [8]
In 2018 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the chemistry and physics prizes, wrote to those eligible to make nominations, encouraging a more diverse range of nominees, asking more women to propose candidates and asking nominators to consider diversity in gender, geography and topic.
- [9]
According to the statutes of the awarding bodies, only a relatively small number of individuals can directly nominate: previous Nobel laureates; professors in relevant subjects at universities in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway; members of the academy; and members of the relevant Nobel committees.
- [10]
Other senior scientists can make nominations indirectly, but only if their institution first receives an official letter of invitation from one of the prize-awarding bodies.
- [11]
After the 2018 move to increase the diversity of nominations, letters were sent to more universities around the world, and women now comprise some 40% of this group of nominators.
- [12]
Nature wrote that the 40% share of women among nominators "bodes well for the future".
- [13]
In a 2024 editorial Nature urged the Nobel-prize-awarding bodies to seek help from recognized networks of universities and scientific organizations to send more letters to a wider swathe of universities; those networks said at the time they would be willing to work with the Nobel organizations to expand the diversity of nominations.
- [14]
Nature says much could be learnt from the organizers of newer prizes, especially those designed to recognize achievement among female scientists and researchers from other under-represented communities.
- [15]
Nature wrote that "One barrier to more rapid change could be the nominations process itself."
- [16]
The statutes Nature cites are those of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the chemistry and physics prizes, and the Karolinska Institute, which awards the prize for physiology or medicine, both in Stockholm.
- [17]
Seven women in 2019-2026 is three more than the four in 2011-2018 and two more than the five in 2003-2010.
- [18]
Four years with no women winners out of the eight years 2019-2026 is 50%.
- [19]
If the five all-male years cover both earlier eight-year periods combined, the rate is about 31%; if five fall in each period, it is about 63%.
- [20]
Nature says the prize-awarding bodies are coming under increasing pressure, and experiencing attempts at interference, from governments.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- nature.comDiversify Nobel-prize nominations before it’s too late
1 article · October 12, 2026
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