Ardem Patapoutian and David Julius were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday. Giorgio Parisi, Syukuro Manabe, and Klaus Hasselmann won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on deciphering chaotic climate patterns. Benjamin List and David MacMillan received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of a tool for molecule building. Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, aged 72, became the second writer of color in sub-Saharan Africa to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The last Black recipient of the prize was Toni Morrison in 1993. Anne-Marie Morhed, head of the Swedish Association of Female Academics, noted that Gurnah meets the criteria of a writer from a non-traditional cultural background, but is not a woman. There are still two awards left to be given - the Peace Prize and the Economy Prize. The Nobel committee in Norway has the opportunity to recognize a woman for one of these prizes. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an exiled Belarus opposition leader, and Greta Thunberg are among the women being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. Both the current and previous Norwegian Nobel Committees are predominantly made up of women, with a woman leading each committee. In recent years, there has been a strong effort to diversify the recipients of prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize, moving away from solely awarding white men from North America and Western Europe as was common in the past. Despite the history of a dozen Black peace laureates, there has never been a Black winner in the fields of medicine, chemistry, and physics, according to Professor Winston Morgan of the University of East London. He has studied representation in these awards as part of his research on inequality in the sciences. Morgan highlights the significant gender gap in prize winners, noting the minimal number of female recipients. Scientists of both genders have expressed their disappointment on social media regarding the lack of recognition for women in this year's awards. GenderAvenger, a non-profit organization focused on promoting women's voices in public discussions, criticized the Nobel Prize announcements for lacking gender diversity. They described the situation as a predictable outcome, with only 4 out of 6 categories revealed and no women recognized. The group questioned if the narrative of the 2021 Nobel Prize was dominated by men, but clarified that women are also making significant contributions. Some individuals, such as Ellie Murray, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, were disappointed by the omission of key female scientists like Katalin Kariko and Kizzmekia Corbett, who played crucial roles in the development of mRNA vaccines that are having a profound impact on the pandemic. According to Nobel watchers, it is highly probable that Kariko and Corbett will eventually receive recognition in the future. The committee typically rewards recipients after a certain period of time, as they adhere to specific criteria and traditions. It is anticipated that the committee will acknowledge scientific advancements during the pandemic in the next three to four years. Although the number of women and scientists from Japan and China receiving Nobel prizes is increasing, there is not a similar trend for Black scientists. "I am more concerned about that," he stated. He emphasized the importance of questioning whether there are an adequate number of black scientists in universities and if they are receiving enough support. When asked about the limited number of Black Nobel Prize winners in literature, Gurnah mentioned to Reuters that the world is evolving. Jesper Haeggstrom, who heads the Nobel Assembly responsible for awarding the Physiology or Medicine prize, stated that there is no simple explanation for the lack of female laureates, attributing it to the historical under-representation of women in science. He added that the further back in time one looks, the fewer female candidates there are. Haeggstrom refused to disclose if gender influenced the committee's selection process, emphasizing that scientific competence is the main consideration. Critics have raised concerns about the lack of gender diversity in the composition of scientific selection committees, citing examples like the medicine selection committee where only 25 percent of professors are women. The Committee for Physics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences also lacks gender balance, with only one woman among the six members and both co-opted members being men. The chemistry committee is made up of six male members and two co-opted members, both of whom are women.