A Celebration of Women in Computational Chemistry

Breaking the Gender Imbalance: Female Presence in the Computational Chemistry Group at Viva Biotech

The growing field of computational chemistry and artificial intelligence is drawing unprecedented attention in drug discovery. However, the underrepresentation of female scientists persists in the field. While the gender disparity is acknowledged in academic settings, the issue is less addressed and intensifies in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry both at the entry-level and leadership positions. At Viva Biotech, we challenge this norm: over 60% of the full-time employees in our computational chemistry group are women, a testament of our commitment to the pursuit of gender equality. We share our vision of the evolving role of computational chemistry in drug discovery and where women stand and rise in the field. In this article, we discuss how we engage female empowerment with tactical approaches and from personal experiences. The intention is to offer actionable guidance for female computational chemists at early career stages to bring visibility to their impacts, and ascent to senior positions.

The Impact of Interdisciplinary, Gender and Geographic Distributions on the Citation Patterns of the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling

There has been a growing recognition of the need for diversity and inclusion in scientific fields. This trend is reflected in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (JCIM), where there has been a gradual increase in the number of papers that embrace this diversity. In this viewpoint, we analyze the evolution of the profile of papers published in JCIM from 1996 to 2022 addressing three diversity criteria, namely interdisciplinarity, geographic and gender distributions, and their impact on citation patterns. We used natural language processing tools for the classification of main areas and gender, as well as metadata, to analyze a total of 7384 articles published in the categories of research articles, reviews, and brief reports. Our analyses reveal that the relative number of articles and citation patterns are similar across the main areas within the scope of JCIM, and international collaboration and publications encompassing two to three research areas attract more citations. The percentage of female authors has increased from 1996 (less than 20%) to 2022 (more than 32%), indicating a positive trend toward gender diversity in almost all geographic regions, although the percentage of publications by single female authors remains lower than 20%. Most JCIM citations come from Europe and the Americas, with a tendency for JCIM papers to cite articles from the same continent. Furthermore, there is a correlation between the gender of the authors, as JCIM manuscripts authored by females are more likely to be cited by other JCIM manuscripts authored by females.

Advancing Women in Chemistry: A Step Toward Gender Parity

As chemistry progressed over the years, modern society witnessed the significant contribution of women chemists. However, the persisting gender imbalance in the scientific community, attributed to improper societal norms and several other reasons, is a matter of concern. The manuscript highlights some great women chemists, such as Nobel Prize awardees, who have created history through their outstanding research work and are role models for other women. Since women continue to encounter recurring obstacles to moving forward in their area, the "leaky pipeline" of women in chemical science remains problematic. Numerous factors, including having to shoulder the labor of childcare and household work and a lack of awareness of regulations and possibilities, contribute to prejudices and the gender gap in higher-level administrative and decision-making roles. To close the gender gap and empower women chemists, we highlight some initiatives (awards, fellowships, schemes, and grants) that have been put forth by governments, organizations, foundations, companies, industries, and publishing societies. As per statistics, only 4% of female scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry until now. Only 35%, 22%, 14%, 26%, and 5% of women are serving as editors-in-chief, while 38%, 40%, 18%, 22%, and 21% are working as associate editors of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Wiley, Elsevier, and Springer journals, respectively. A further issue is that women receive far fewer honors in chemistry. To promote a more encouraging atmosphere for women scientists at all career phases, we listed some recommendations that research grant funders, academic institutions, publishers, and scientific organizations can follow. For gender parity, the paper sought to address the current situation of women in the chemical sciences. Women's contributions to chemistry will promote innovation and progress in the field.

Impact of the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling Special Issue on Women in Computational Chemistry

In this Viewpoint, we provide a commentary on the impact of the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling Special Issue on Women in Computational Chemistry published in May 2019 and the feedback we received.