A record number of women are nominated for the Millennium Technology Prize
Women represent nearly a third of the 2022 award-winning inventors. The next million Millennium Technology Prize will be awarded on October 25, 2022.
A record number of 28.1% of the 2022 Millennium Technology Prize nominees are women. The last time, in 2020, the award was given to only 9.9% of the nominee inventors.
“We are very proud of the huge increase in the proportion of women among the candidates. Increasing the number of female candidates was an important goal in this recently concluded round of nominations, and it is very gratifying to see how the technology industry has responded so well to the challenge, ”says Minna Palmroth, Chairman of the Board of Technology Academy Finland, Millennium Technology Prize.
State-of-the-art science and technology is still often seen as a field for men; The Millennium Technology Prize wants to break that assumption and encourage more women into the industry.
“We need more women to meet our common global challenges, and our mission is to highlight cutting-edge technology and innovation. The proportion of women in the top award does not match the real contribution of female innovators, ”says Palmroth.
Nominees for the Millennium Technology Prize have been submitted by organizations around the world. The Academy of Technology itself does not seek out award recipients; instead, the winner will be selected from outside candidates who meet the set criteria. Designated innovation developers may be individuals or groups.
Most candidates for the Life Science category
A total of 40 innovations were nominated for the 2022 Millennium Technology Prize.
The Life Science category, which covers the life sciences, medicine and food, accounted for a third of the candidates. The Energy and Environment and ICT and Intelligent Systems categories garnered a quarter of the candidates. The New Materials, Processes and Manufacturing category received 5% of all candidates. However, the category of innovation does not affect its chances of winning the award.
Of the proposals, 45% came from Europe, 25% from North America, 15% from Asia-Pacific, 10% from the Middle East and 5% from Africa.
The award criteria were updated for this round of appointments. The rules of the Millennium Technology Prize now emphasize the potential of award-winning technologies to conserve natural resources and promote biodiversity and equality. In addition, the evaluation of candidates also pays attention to the global accessibility of the technology and the ethical guidelines used in its development.
Source: Academy of Technology