The prize is named after French scientist Irène Joliot-Curie,[2][3] a French chemist, physicist and politician who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for the discovery of artificial radioactivity.[4] (This prize should be distinguished from a different prize with the same name, offered since 1956 by the Société Française de Physique. which rewards work in the field of physics each year.[5])
Each year three awards are given: one for the female scientist of the year, a second to a young female scientist, and a third to a woman in business and technology. In addition, until 2009, of the award a fourth category of awards was given, to an individual or group in recognition of their mentorship of women in science.[6] In 2023, a new category was recognized in a special prize for engagement.[7]
^Association nationale des études féministes, Le genre dans l'enseignement supérieur et la recherche: livre blanc, Collection Le Genre du monde (in French), La Dispute, 2014, p. 26, Elle organise chaque année, depuis 2001, le prix Irène Joliot-Curie, pour favoriser la présence des filles dans les études scientifiques et techniques et faire avancer la parité femmes-hommes dans le milieu de la recherche
^Rochefort, Florence (2009), Femmes du XXIe siècle (in French), Aubanel, p. 135, ISBN9782700606294, Ainsi le prix Irène Joliot-Curie, créé en 2001 par le ministère de la Recherche, récompense-t-il trois femmes en sciences et en technologie
