nobel prize

Women and the Nobel Peace Prize
Author: Ingunn Norderval

Published March 2021
178 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-1-952292-04-0
13.95 USD, 11.50 EUR; free shipping

About the Book

Previous nominees to the Nobel Peace Prize include some surprising but well-known names, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Maria Montessori, Eva Peron, and Helen Keller. Alfred Nobel had a woman in mind as the first recipient when he created the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet, the Peace Prize has been awarded to far fewer women than men during the century since its inception.
Have the world's most influential female peace activists been fairly recognized? Or were their efforts undervalued compared to their male counterparts, who have historically ended up with far more Prizes?
Ingunn Norderval has done groundbreaking research, delving into the notes of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, looking at all of the women who were nominated for the Peace Prize from 1901 to 1960, and all who won the prize after 1960. The Committee's notes are kept secret for 50 years. Only now can we understand the reasoning behind the committee's decisions. Some of the nominated women became Nobel Laureates. Many did not. Some were known in their times but have been forgotten, until now. Norderval digs into the archives to find out who they really were and what made them tick. These women, many of whom were bold enough to work for peace in the darkest of times, all made personal sacrifices. Read their stories.
 
 

Table of Contents

Preface by WILPF Norway
Foreword
Introduction by the Author

Chapter 1 
— The Background for the Nobel Peace Prize
The Shortlist
Some Central Questions

Chapter 2 — 
The Period 1901–1940
Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914)
Jane Addams (1860–1935)
Other Candidates (1901–1940)
Priscilla Hannah Peckover (1833–1931)
Lucia Ames Mead (1856–1936)
Belva Ann Lockwood (1830–1917)
Henriette Verdier Winteler de Weindeck
Madame Angela de Oliveira Cezar de Costa
Anna Eckstein (1868–1947)
Rosika Schwimmer (1877–1948)
Mary Shapard
Madame Séverine (1855–1929)
Eglantyne Jebb (1876–1928)
Elsa Brändström (1888–1948)
Lady Aberdeen (1854–1939)
Annie Besant (1847–1933)
Princess Marguerite-Antonette 
Heraclius Djabadary
Janet Miller (1873–1958)
Julie Bikle (1871–1962)
Moina Belle Michael (1869–1944)
Irma Schweitzer (1882–1967)
Henrietta Szold (1860–1945)
Princess Henriette of Belgium (1870–1948)
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947)

Chapter 3
 — The Postwar Period 1945–1960 57
Emily Greene Balch (1867–1961)
Alexandra Kollontay (1872–1952)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
Women’s International League for 
Peace and Freedom
Gertrude Baer (1889–1959)
Katharine Bruce Glasier (1868–1950)
Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
Eva Peron (1919–1952)
Princess Wilhelmina (1880–1962)
Elisabeth Rotten (1882–1964)
Barbara Waylen (1906–1980)
Margaret Sanger (1880–1966)
Helen Keller (1880–1968)
Lady Baden-Powell (1889–1977)

Chapter 4 — 
Conclusions
A Condescending View of Women?
Main Characteristics of Male Prize Laureates
Main Characteristics of Nominated Women
Controversial Candidates
The Enlarged Concept of Peace

Appendix A: 
Female Peace Prize Laureates 1976–2020
1976: Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams 
(The Irish Peace Women)
1979: Mother Teresa (1910–1997)
1982: Alva Myrdal (1902–1986)
1991: Aung San Suu Kyi (1945–)
1992: Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1959–)
1997: Jody Williams (1950–)
2003: Shirin Ebadi (1947–)
2004: Wangari Maathai (1940–2011)
2011: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (1938–)
2011: Leymah Gbowee (1972–)
2011: Tawakkol Karman (1979–)
2014: Malala Yousafzai (1997–)
2018: Nadia Murad (1993–)

Appendix B: 
Women Nominated for the 
Nobel Peace Prize (1901–1960)

Appendix C: Tables

Appendix D: 
Consultants Cited in the Text

Endnotes

Archival Material

Bibliography

 


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