Five women scientists, A$25,000 (about $16,000) each, and 20 years of opening laboratory doors

The L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme is marking its 20th year in Australia and New Zealand by naming five new fellows — researchers whose work runs from AI tools that catch the earliest signs of breast cancer to hunting hidden viruses that could shape how the world prepares for the next pandemic. Each fellow receives A$25,000 (about $16,000) in flexible funding, plus mentorship from the programme's alumnae — money designed to bend around real lives, not just experiments. Since 2007 the programme has invested more than $2 million in nearly 100 women scientists across the two countries, building a network where each generation of fellows guides the next.

SDG 5 · Gender equality — Mechanism: funding & finance