The Elsevier Foundation Awards 2010 New Scholars Grant to the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSDW)

BEIJING, June 30, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- 2010 Partnership With TWOWS Aims to Improve Participation and Recognition of Women Scientists in the Developing World

The Elsevier Foundation announced today that it has awarded the 2010 New Scholars grant to the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSDW), formerly the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) - for two programs: the National Assessments and Benchmarking of Gender, Science, Technology and Innovation and the OWSDW Awards for Young Women Scientists 2011. The $177,000 grant was announced at the OWSDW 4th General Assembly and International Conference, Women Scientists in a Changing World, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing.

The OWSDW National Assessments and Benchmarking of Gender, Science, Technology and Innovation will undertake a seven country assessment in collaboration with WIGSAT (Women, Technology, Society) to provide a picture of the level of support, opportunities and participation of women in innovation systems in developed, emerging and developing countries. A series of policy recommendations will then be developed on the basis of the data analysis and future assessments, for defining and achieving national targets for women's participation in countries with highly accelerated growth in the research arena. The study will cover: China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, the US and Europe.

A 2009 Elsevier Foundation New Scholars grant enabled the OWSDW Awards for Young Women Scientists to expand the existing award program from four prizes (one per developing world region) to twelve (three discipline-specific grants per region). The 2010 prizes were announced on June 27th at the OWSDW 4th General Assembly meeting in Beijing and awarded by Xi Jinping, Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China and David Ruth, the Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation. The 2010 Elsevier Foundation New Scholars grant will also ensure that the OWSDW Awards for Young Women Scientists will be continued in 2011, ensuring that talented young women scientists from the developing world continue to be recognized for their achievements.

Targeting the attrition of talented women scientists in the academic pipeline, past Elsevier Foundation New Scholars projects have aimed to support women scholars during the early stages of their demanding careers in science and technology. They have ranged from mentoring to advocacy, basic research to dual career travel and recruiting grants, lactation centers, childcare at professional meetings and work-life balance workshops.

"We have identified OWSDW's broad and ambitious assessment as a critical starting point for measuring the participation of women and girls in science, technology and innovation in emerging and developing contexts," said David Ruth, Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation, "By pinpointing key areas of national strength and weakness, it will help form the basis of policy and aid going forward."

"We are very grateful to the Elsevier Foundation for this grant," said Fang Xin, President of OWSDW and member of the Presidium of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, "The OWSDW benchmarking assessment will chart policies, factors and actors in national Science, Technology and Innovation systems, leveraging existing and new data to give a global view on the current status of participation of women scientists and technologists."

Notes to Editors: David Ruth, Executive Director of the Elsevier Foundation and Sophia Huyer, Senior Advisor, OWSDW will be available for interviews at the OWSDW 4th General Assembly and international conference, Women Scientists in a Changing World, hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing from 27-30 June 2010. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for further details.

About The Elsevier Foundation

The Elsevier Foundation (http://www.elsevierfoundation.org/) provides grants to institutions around the world, with a focus on support for the world's libraries and for scholars in the early stages of their careers. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than 60 grants worth millions of dollars to non-profit organizations working in these fields. In January 2010, $600,000 in grants was awarded to 12 organizations selected for their innovation and potential for impact in the developing world and academic workplace. Through gift-matching, the Foundation also supports the efforts of Elsevier employees to play a positive role in their local and global communities. The Elsevier Foundation is funded by Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com), a leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services.

About OWSDW

Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSDW) - formerly the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS) (http://www.twows.org/) - is an international sister organization of TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world. OWSDW is headed by eminent women scientists from the south, consisting of more than 3,000 members. The central role is to promote women's access to science and technology, enhancing their greater involvement in the decision-making processes for the development of their countries and in the international scientific community. Created in 1989, OWSDW's overall goal is to work towards bridging the gender gap in science and technology. OWSDW uses its forum for intellectual discussions to assist in the development of national capabilities to evolve, explore and improve strategies for increasing female participation in science.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet (http://www.thelancet.com) and Cell (http://www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (http://www.scopus.com), Reaxys (http://www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (http://www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (http://www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (http://www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier ( http://www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (http://www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

    Media Contacts:

    Elsevier Foundation
    Ylann Schemm
    Corporate Relations Manager
    Tel: +31-20-485-2025
    [email protected]
    [email protected]

    OWSDW
    Danny Schaffer, Information Officer
    Tel: +39-040-2240-571
    Email: [email protected]
    Web: http://www.twows.org

    Tasia Asakawa
    TWAS Public Information Office
    Tel: +39-040-2240-512
    Email: [email protected]

SOURCE ELSEVIER AND THE ELSEVIER FOUNDATION