This is the second issue of “Snapshot fellows”, where you will discover the fellows in their day-to-day work.

In this challenging world, everyone has a tendency to look for the best way of living. A considerable number of people, especially women, feel gender inequality. However others hold on the contrary opinion believing that there is no case for worrying. I concede that often gender rights are abased and I would like to present my condition as a female scientist in my country, which I will illustrate with examples based on my own experience.

In developing countries like Bangladesh, providing quality primary and secondary education for girls is essential to bringing more women into science. Hasina Akhter suggests ways that teachers, parents and governments can help correct the gender gap.

In this ode to women scientists, behavioral ecologist Venetia Briggs reminds us how much the face of science has already changed--and how much further we have to go.

As part of the L'OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science awards week, a group of distinguished panelists gathered in Paris for a press roundtable to share their views on gender mainstreaming, on the challenges women face in pursuing research careers in the private and public sectors, and the support measures that have been-or should be-taken.

Few women are as affected by the rush of the modern world as women scientists. Their duties as mothers, wives, daughters and homemakers take a great deal of time away from their science. Cultural factors can change, but biological factors cannot, and Dr. Eugenia del Pino Veintimilla suggests ways for woman scientists to devise personal coping strategies.

Baroness Susan Greenfield has become the public face of science for many in the English-speaking world. Host of the BBC documentary series Brain Story, scholar, author and entrepreneur, Baroness Greenfield's brilliance, charisma and magnificent gift for communicating complex scientific issues to non-scientists have made her one of the most influential women of our times. She is Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford University, and Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Speech at the L'OREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science awards ceremony held in Paris on February 22, 2007

Too many brains are going to waste. Because of a lack of money and because of social customs that limit women to traditional roles. We need science now more than ever, especially in developing countries. The doors of opportunity must be opened to bright young women with potential.

Overcoming prejudice of all kinds—in this case sexism—is a long, slow battle. The key is raising awareness and correcting mistaken perceptions. Maybe we can sum it up as: Perseverance in Service of Progress!