Women's Impact Award
Despite making up half of the world’s population, women* and girls still face systemic inequality. This award celebrates visionary scientists whose interdisciplinary, ground-breaking research advances gender equity and creates meaningful societal impact for women and girls.
Highlights of the Award
- 10 Finalists will be selected by a distinguished jury and publicly announced to gain global recognition.
- Out of these, 3 Winners will be invited to the International Fall Gathering and Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin, Germany from 6–9 November 2025.
- Among the winners, one exceptional researcher will be honoured as the Science Breakthrough of the Year in the Women’s Impact category and will present on the prestigious Breakthrough stage at the Falling Walls Science Summit on 9 November 2025.
The Women’s Impact Award is a collaborative initiative by the Falling Walls Foundation, the Elsevier Foundation, and the Volkswagen Foundation.
The Women's Impact Award 2025 Finalists
The ten Women's Impact Award Finalists are:
Ângela Gonçalves, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany
How the biological clock ticks in the female reproductive tract: the influence of reproductive cycling on aging and disease
Cally Tann, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Baby Ubuntu: Harnessing the power of expert mothers to create inclusive families and communities
Claudia Barth, Division for Mental Health and Substance Abuse,Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Norway
FemHealth: deciphering the role of immunoendocrine factors during pregnancy and menopause in women’s health
Colette Wabnitz, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, and the Institute for Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, USA/Canada
Gender equity in fisheries
Diana Koester, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
Building states that 'work' for women: Implications of state responsiveness to violence against women in post-conflict settings
Gabriela Ghisi, KITE Research Institute, University Health Network, Canada
Supporting women in cardiac rehabilitation through tailored education and programs
Omneya Attallah, Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Egypt
BrAID: Early detection of breast cancer in resource-limited settings via novel cost-effective non-invasive biomarkers and artificial intelligence
Vivian Feig, Stanford University, USA
Breaking barriers in women’s reproductive health with self-administrable longacting contraception
Ninadini Sharma, California Institute of Technology, USA
Breaking the wall of infertility: Lab-grown eggs for fertility preservation
Sarah Bellows-Blakely, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Fixing the system: Analyses in the context of the history of science
Congratulations!
On 31 July, we'll be announcing the three Winners of the Women's Impact Award. Those selected will join us in Berlin to present their projects on 6 November.
*Falling Walls Female Science Talents uses an inclusive definition of women and welcomes submissions from cis and trans women, genderqueer and non-binary people.
RELEVANT INFORMATION
- Universities and research institutions
- Companies with research labs
- Scientific foundations
- Partner organisations of Falling Walls
- Leading scientists in their field
We welcome submissions from women researchers from all disciplines who:
- Are researchers at least at the postdoctoral level, similar level or higher.
- Conduct a ground-breaking research project directly connected to one of the 17 SDGs which:
- Tackles a specific gender related topic,
- Incorporates gender equality into its design,
- Ideally enables and empowers underserved communities through the design of the research and/or its application.
- The research project must be running and active at the time of the submission. Being in the funding or ideation phase is not considered eligible.
Nominations that do not fit these selection criteria will not be considered for evaluation.
Please note that all nominations have to be submitted in English.
The Winners will:
- Receive a travel scholarship for Berlin from 7–9 November 2025 and participate in the International Fall Gathering and the Falling Walls Science Summit 2025.
- Benefit from an increased reach and visibility for you and your research on a global level.
- Get unique networking opportunities with global leaders in science, politics, business, and the media.
- Become part of the inspiring Female Science Talents community and get access to the Female Science Talents community channels.
- Become a champion that inspires the vision of gender equality in science.
- Engage with other Falling Walls projects, including Falling Walls Venture, Falling Walls Engage, Falling Walls Lab and partners.
In addition, the Science Breakthrough of the Year in the Women's Impact Award category will:
- Receive a digital pitch training in October.
- Present on the grand Breakthrough stage at the Falling Walls Science Summit on 9 November 2025 together with other Science Breakthroughs of the Year in other categories.
STEP 1
Click on the button above “Nominate or Apply Now”.
STEP 2
Select if you are nominating or applying (drop-down menu).
STEP 3
Select the category “Women’s Impact Award” (drop-down menu).
STEP 4
If you are nominating someone, nominees will get an email inviting them to complete their nomination.
STEP 5
Nominees and applicants will be informed about the selection process per email.
30 April
Closing of the Call for Nominations.
June
- A pre-selection of applications is led by our Selection Committee.
July
- A distinguished Jury consisting of up to 6 Members, among them renown scientists, partners and representatives of the Female Science Talents community, will shortlist 10 Finalists.
- The Jury will select 3 Winners in the Women’s Impact Award category.
August
- The Winners will be announced on the Falling Walls Female Science Talents website.
- The Jury will announce the Breakthrough of the Year 2025 in the Women’s Impact Award category.
- Start of travel planning.
October
Digital pitch training workshop and onboarding into our global community of Female Science Talents.
7–9 November 2025
International Fall Gathering & Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin, Germany.
7 November 2025
In-person Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner in Berlin, Germany.
If you have further questions about the Women's Impact Award, please reach out to: femalesciencetalents@falling-walls.com
For more information on Female Science Talents, check out our About Page.
Please read our Terms & Conditions before applying.
