10 pioneering women who changed the history of the country with their work

These women rewrote the history of Brazil. They opened paths in the most diverse sectors and gained international projection. Of course, the CLAUDIA Award, the highest female award in Latin America, accompanies female explorers who take the first steps in their fields.

Since 1996, we have told the story of several women. This year is no different. The 21 finalists of 2016 find solutions, improve the lives of others and inspire. Personalities are divided into the following categories: Sciences🇧🇷 Culture🇧🇷 Business🇧🇷 Public policy🇧🇷 Revelation and Social work🇧🇷 There is still the category Inspiring Natura Consultant, which highlights the social work of three consultants of the sponsoring brand. You can be part of this story. Meet the finalists and help define the winners of the 2016 CLAUDIA Award. To vote, you must click on the heart next to the photo of each candidate.

It is now possible to vote for the Award. Meet the finalists!

Meanwhile, meet 10 finalists and winners of the CLAUDIA Award in previous editions, who are pioneers in their fields:

Marinella Della Negra, the first doctor to treat a child infected with the AIDS virus in Brazil

In the mid-1980s, some doctors refused to treat people with the AIDS virus. Because they did not know the forms of transmission, they isolated the seropositive patients who, sometimes, died alone. In Brazil, the infectologist Marinella Della Negra broke this pattern. Finalist of the second edition of the CLAUDIA Award, in 1997, she was the first doctor to treat a baby with HIV+, rejected by other teams, in 1985. Since then, Marinella has diligently studied the treatment of seropositive children. She is also a pioneer in the use of immunoglobulin to reinforce the capacity of the child’s organism to resist the virus. In 1989, she mobilized companies and people and founded the Association to Help Children with HIV.

Mayana Zatz, pioneer in the study of neuromuscular diseases in Brazil

Born in Israel and living in Brazil, the molecular biologist and geneticist identified with her team three genes linked to muscular dystrophy, a hereditary disease that causes muscle degeneration. The pioneer in the study of neuromuscular diseases is a professor of Genetics at the Institute of Biosciences, at the University of São Paulo (USP), and also coordinates the Center for Human Genome Studies, the largest research center for genetic problems in the country. The 2001 CLAUDIA Award was one of the first in the geneticist’s brilliant career. Currently, she collects more than three dozen titles and honors.

It is now possible to vote for the Award. Meet the finalists!

Brazil became the first country to sequence the code of an agricultural pest with the Genome Project thanks to them

CLAUDIA 2000 Award winning scientists: Elisabeth Leme Martins, Ana Rasera, Marilis do Valle Marques, Anamaria Aranha Camargo, Mariana de Oliveira, Monteiro-Vitorello, Marie-Anne Van Sluys

Thanks to the work of 109 researchers, Brazil became the first country to sequence the code of an agricultural pest, in January 2000. For two years, the group worked on the Genome Project for Xylella fastidiosa, the bacteria that causes yellowing, a disease which clogs up the veins of the orange tree, preventing the growth of the tree. Seven scientists received the CLAUDIA Award for their dedication and prominence in the project. They completed the genetic sequencing of the bacterium four months ahead of schedule. In other words, they discovered a total of 2.7 million base pairs of the parasite’s genetic code. The discovery by professionals in the area of ​​molecular biology at the University of São Paulo (USP), the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Butantan Institute, in São Paulo, meant a ten-year advance in combating the plague.

Rosangela Bernabé, the first ballerina in Brazil to teach dance to people with physical and mental disabilities

Onstage, the music fades; the light goes out. For a few seconds, there is absolute silence. Until applause erupts from the audience. “When we finish a performance, there is always a moment of suspense, because people are perplexed, they cannot believe what they have seen”, said Rosangela Bernabé in an interview with in 2001. The winner of the Prize that year is the first dancer in Brazil to give dance classes for the physically and mentally handicapped. The project seeks to break the limits of the artist’s body. The proposal is carried out masterfully, as reported by dancer Ana Cristina, a victim of cerebral palsy: “I was a cocoon, today I am a beautiful butterfly”. In 2001, the group created in 1991 had already performed in more than 100 international events.

Joênia Wapixana (Joênia Batista de Carvalho), Brazil’s first indigenous lawyer

The Indian woman from the village of Wapixana, in the interior of Roraima, barely knew how to speak Portuguese when she started going to school at the age of 8. The difficulty in keeping up with classes was not an obstacle for her to finish high school in the early 1990s. The next step, according to the tradition of educated indigenous women, was to become a teacher. She decided to walk new paths and went to work in an accounting office. Even without knowing any Indian lawyers, she studied Law at night while working during the day. It was a laughing stock among co-workers who doubted her ability. She ignored them. In 1997 she graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Roraima and became the first indigenous lawyer in Brazil. Joênia Wapixana, as she likes to be called, was president of the National Commission for the Defense of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Bar Association (OAB). After being a CLAUDIA Award finalist in 2003, she received the 2004 Reebok Awardin the United States,in defense of human rights, awarded to activists around the world aged up to 30 years.

It is now possible to vote for the Award. Meet the finalists!

Adelaide de Fátima, the first woman in the wood sector in Acre to adapt her production to the sustainable model

In order to gain the sympathy of the population, the businesswoman in the timber sector decided to adapt her production to the sustainable model. She sought guidance from technicians from the Government of Acre and implemented a tree felling technique in a planned and non-predatory manner. She was the first businesswoman in the sector in Acre to take such a step. She became an environmental leader and decided to specialize in the topic. A finalist for the CLAUDIA Award, in 2004, she graduated in Environmental Management from Centro Universitário do Norte (Uninorte), in 2010. ).

Thaisa Storchi Bergmann, first scientist to detect materials around a black hole at the center of a galaxy

The astronomer and astrophysicist from Rio Grande do Sul proved the theory that black holes can suck in anything that approaches them. The discovery was made in 1991, at the astronomical observatory of Cerro Tololo, in Chile. Thaisa became an international reference. Important recognition, since only 30% of researchers in the world are women, according to Unesco. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Washington, and in 2015 she was the winner of the L’Oréal-Unesco Award for Women in Science.

Ivete Sacramento, first black female dean

The desire to see the world spurred Ivete Sacramento to explore other paths beyond the outskirts of Salvador, where she was born. At age 19, she was a teacher in Utaitaba (450 km from Salvador). She left Bahia to pursue a Masters in Education at the Université du Quebec a Montreal, Canada. When she returned, she became the first black Brazilian woman to become president of a university, elected to the position at the State University of Bahia (Uneb) in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. During her management, she implemented the policy of quotas for blacks, doubled the number of courses offered and created the Intensive Graduate Program for Teachers. The educator also militates against racial discrimination. She founded the Unified Black Movement of Bahia. She has already received more than 25 awards and titles granted for her work as an educator concerned with the social inclusion of black people.

It is now possible to vote for the Award. Meet the finalists!

Luslinda Valois, the first black judge and the first professional to issue a sentence against a case of racism in Brazil

Daughter of a tram driver and a washerwoman and granddaughter of a slave, Luslinda heard from a teacher that she should stop studying and cook for whites. The provocation motivated her to continue studying until she became the first black judge and the first professional to pass a sentence against a case of racism in Brazil. Among several projects, she reactivated the Special Courts in Bahia and assisted needy neighborhoods in Salvador and Feira de Santana through the Itinerant Justice, a courtroom inside a bus. The winner of the 2010 CLAUDIA Award says that the recognition was significant for her life. “I gained much more courage and daring to fight for my ideals”, she reveals. She is currently a retired judge and, in June of this year, she took over the Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality, being appointed by the interim president, Michel Temer.

Maria Clara de Sena, the first transsexual in the world in charge of the Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture, a body recommended by the UN

At 1.90 m, curly hair down to her shoulder and delicate gestures, Maria Clara de Sena knows how to be sweet and firm in equal measure. This is because she deals daily with an issue that requires tact and trust: the guarantee of human rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transgender (LGBT) population. She is the only transsexual in the world in charge of the Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture, a body in the state of Pernambuco, whose creation follows a recommendation from the United Nations. Since 2014, she has been checking conditions in places where abuse is common, such as prisons, asylums, police stations and rehabilitation clinics for drug addicts. “Many friends are still in prostitution, in prisons. Some were killed and buried in suits and ties,” she laments. “But despite everything, we are conquering our rights. We are inserting transsexuals into the job market, conducting courses and actually guaranteeing their resocialization”, explains the finalist of the 2016 CLAUDIA Award.