Graceful, intelligent, confident and composed, they adorned the stage in elegant attire, delivered eloquent acceptance speeches and spoke articulately in post-ceremony interviews. Their husbands and children watched proudly in the audience. This wasn't the Oscars; it was the China Young Female Scientist Award ceremony.

The event's 19th edition, held in Beijing last month, celebrated women's achievements by honoring 20 exceptional women and five outstanding teams led by female scientists.

Wang Xiaoyun, director of the supervisory committee of the award and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced that this year saw a record high of 825 individual candidates and 141 team candidates.

This year's winners come from various fields, such as mathematics, mechanics, physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, agronomy, Earth sciences, hydraulic engineering and pharmacology, and included representatives from universities, research institutes and enterprises. They are outstanding examples of women in science and technology in the new era, says Wang, who was a recipient of the award's third edition.

For the past 20 years, the award has witnessed the rising influence of women in science across China, showcasing their growing presence, diverse research areas and achievements.

A report on Chinese researchers from a gender perspective, released by the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other departments at the end of 2022, shows that the number of women working in the discipline is growing.

In 2005, the report says, women made up 13 percent of researchers in China. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, that number has risen to nearly 46 percent.

In 2004, as an extension and development of the For Women in Science program in China, the China Young Female Scientist Award was established jointly by the All-China Women's Federation, the China Association for Science and Technology, the China National Committee for UNESCO, and L'Oreal China. It remains the only official award for women in science and technology in China.