The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards are presented every year to five women, one from each world region (Africa and the Arab States, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America) in recognition of their scientific accomplishments. Each scientist has had a unique career path combining exceptional talent, a deep commitment to her profession and remarkable courage in a field still largely dominated by men.
The scientific fields considered for the awards alternate every other year between life sciences and material sciences. In 2019, the L'Oréal Foundation and UNESCO decided to reinforce their efforts to empower women in science by extending the International Awards dedicated to material science, which had focused on chemistry and physics until then, to two more research areas: mathematics and computer science.