Science Thrives Best When all Voices are Heard
On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Fritz Haber Institute honors its pioneers such as Clara Immerwahr, Germany’s first female chemistry PhD, while also celebrating the achievements of women across all fields of research at the institute, demonstrating that science thrives when barriers are broken and opportunities are open to all.
Scientific progress draws from the best brains. Yet, across history and around the world, women and girls have repeatedly been excluded, underestimated, or rendered invisible in scientific discovery. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science reminds us that this exclusion not only limits individual potential, it limits the progress of science itself. Globally, women still represent less than one third of researchers (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00620-3), a persistent gap that constrains innovation and undermines our ability to tackle the grand challenges of our time, from climate change to health and beyond.
From Clara to Today: Celebrating Women’s Achievements at FHI
The story of women in science at the Fritz Haber Institute begins with pioneers like Dr. Clara Immerwahr. In 1900, she became the first woman in Germany to obtain a doctorate in chemistry, a remarkable achievement at a time when structural barriers made academic careers nearly impossible for women. After earning her doctorate, Clara became an assistant to Professor Abegg, which at the time was the highest academic position accessible to a woman. Nowadays, her scientific work and life continue to symbolize both the contributions of women to science and the challenges they have had to overcome. More than a century later, Clara’s legacy lives on at FHI, where women continue to make remarkable contributions to scientific discovery.
Over the past year, female scientists at our institute have advanced cutting-edge research, earned prestigious fellowships, and achieved highest international recognition. To highlight some of the most recent accomplishments, Prof. Beatriz Roldán Cuenya, Director of the Interface Science Department, received several prestigious honors in 2025, including being named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics, elected Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), awarded the 4th ACES-Margarita Salas Award in Stockholm, and inducted into the Leopoldina, Germany’s National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Patricia Poths secured a highly competitive Liebig Fellowship from the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie (FCI) to lead her own research group, while Melanie Müller received a W3 Professorship at the University of Bonn and Technical University of Dortmund. Moreover, Dr. Chenyue Qiu, Dr. Parrydeep Kaur Sachdeva, and Dr. Huimin Liu joined FHI through the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowships for Postdocs, bringing their expertise to the institute. Other highlights of 2025 included Dr. JuHyeon Lee and Dr. Elena Gelžinytė participating in the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Chemistry, as well as Dr. Eibenberger-Arias being honored with the Zellner Science Award 2025 for her pioneering work on the molecular spectroscopic control of quantum states of chiral molecules.
In addition to nurturing talent within the institute, the FHI is also committed to supporting women beyond it, through collaborations and research stays. We are proud to continue our collaboration with Jennifer Rupp, Professor at the Technical University of Munich and head of the Electrochemical Materials Lab, as a Max Planck Fellow, and to host Prof. Tanja Cuk from the University of Colorado Boulder for a research stay, supported by her Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award.
Women in Science at FHI: Our Progress and How We Empower Them
Currently, 32% of our staff are women, with female scientists, group leaders, and our female director making up 27% of our scientific staff – an increase of 6% compared to six years ago. But we know representation is just the beginning. Therefore, we actively foster empowerment through education. In the past two years alone, we have offered initiatives such as a roundtable discussion on equality in academia to spark open exchange across disciplines, a communications workshop for women, conflict management training to boost visibility and professional skills, and a workshop on menstrual health. Our Gender Equality Officers support these efforts, ensuring equal opportunities, transparency, and inclusion at every stage of the scientific career. We also believe in the importance of inspiring the next generation: every year, on Girls’ Day, we welcome around 30 girls aged 10–16, giving them hands-on experience in scientific research and a first-hand look at what life in a modern research environment is really like.
The Road Forward: Advancing Equality at FHI
Inspired by the legacy of Clara Immerwahr, we are determined to keep advancing toward gender equality. At the Fritz Haber Institute, we are committed to creating an environment where scientific careers can flourish free of gender-based barriers. We are continuously working to make our workplace more family-friendly by offering flexible working hours, company childcare places, support for female scientists and visiting researchers with children, and access to a parent–child working room. Through these measures, we aim to support women in balancing family responsibilities with their professional lives, we attract top talent and foster a culture of respect, openness, and inclusion. This not only strengthens our position as a leading research institute but also recognizes that excellent science thrives best when everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
