Although chemistry was dominated by men in retrospect, there have always been women who were not intimidated by this. Driven by a thirst for knowledge, perseverance and a dash of civil courage, they pursued their careers in science at a time when it was not yet customary for women to take their A levels, go to university and then also pursue a career. Unfortunately, their achievements were not recognised through honours such as the awarding of prizes or having institutions named after them.

To ensure that these pioneering women in chemistry are not forgotten, Prof. Dr. Eberhard Ehlers and Prof. Dr. Heribert Offermanns took the initiative in 2020 to honour them posthumously and highlight their fascinating and diverse career paths in short portraits. The GDCh presents these portraits of the first female chemists (born up to 1939) on these webpages. Be impressed and inspired by the achievements and enthusiasm of the early female chemists for their profession.

When we look at the prizes and awards in chemistry, we encounter almost exclusively renowned men. Is chemistry an exclusively male domain?

Certainly not any more! But by 2025, the Nobel Prizes awarded had gone to 827 men, 64 women (7.2%) and 28 organisations (excluding the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences; source). In chemistry, we count (as of 2025) eight female Nobel laureates out of a total of 198 people honoured (3.8%). Five of these women scientists have been honoured since 2009. (source)

Carolyn Bertozzi (2022)
Emmanuelle Charpentier (2020)
Jennifer Doudna (2020)
Frances H. Arnold (2018)
Ada Yonath (2009)
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1964)
Irène Joliot-Curie (1935)
Marie Curie (1911)

In the Physiology/Medicine category, 14 women have so far been honoured with the Nobel Prize, including the German biologist and biochemist Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard.

We are currently witnessing more and more women achieving international recognition for their scientific contributions. However, it will take time before prizes are named after them, as this often only happens after their death. To promote equal opportunities and the visibility of women in the scientific community, in 2020 the GDCh established the biennial Hildegard Hamm Brücher Award for equal opportunities in chemistry – a clear commitment to greater equal opportunities in chemistry.

But there have always been women who refused to be deterred from studying chemistry by the prevailing social conditions. Despite many obstacles and occasional hostility, they often earned the recognition of the men they worked with – including Nobel laureates. We present some of these women on these pages.

The GDCh would like to express its sincere thanks to the two authors and to Prof. Dr. Barbara Albert, TU Darmstadt, for their conceptual advice.

Note
The texts published in this series do not claim to constitute academic publications. The authors and other people involved are not experts in the history of science. The purpose of the series is to introduce the usually little-known women chemists and to remember the well-known women chemists. Readers who would like to learn more are encouraged to study academic sources about the women presented. In some cases, detailed works on the history of chemistry are available.

The Senior Expert Chemists (Senior Expert Chemists; SEC) of the GDCh are collecting personal accounts, stories, anecdotes, pictures and historical documents relating to studying chemistry and choosing a career in the 1950s to 1980s. You can find the contributions received so far here.