As the end of the year approaches, literary prizes are in the spotlight. This is a fitting moment to take a closer look at the figures behind the Nobel Prize in Literature. This article provides an overview of how many female authors have received the prize compared with their male counterparts — and how this balance has evolved over time.

It will come as no surprise that men significantly outnumber women among Nobel Literature laureates. What may be more surprising is that this imbalance persisted well into the late twentieth century.

Between 1967 and 1990, spanning a period of 24 years, no woman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. In other words, no female author received the prize during the 1970s or 1980s — the same was true for the 1910s and 1950s.

Put otherwise, in a period of 45 years between 1945 (Gabriela Mistral) and 1991 (Nadine Gordimer), only one woman received the Nobel Prize in Literature – Nelly Sachs in 1966 – and she had to share it with Shmuel Yosef Agnon.

This is striking, especially considering that awareness of gender equality was rising sharply in Western societies during that period.

Research shows that women read more books overall — and more fiction in particular — than men. Likewise, one might expect that this readership pattern would be reflected in a greater recognition of female authors, yet this seems not to have been the case.

While gender should not be a criterion in deciding who deserves a literary award, the near-absence of women for such a long time clearly points to a structural gender imbalance in the history of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Fortunately, the Swedish Academy has demonstrated a more balanced approach in recent decades. Since the 1990s, the selection of laureates has included women more frequently, although there is still an imbalance.

Out of 122 Nobel Laureates in Literature to date, 104 have been men and 18 have been women — meaning that women make up just 14.75% of all recipients.

A decade-by-decade breakdown makes the numbers easier to understand:

• 1901–1910: 1 woman among 11 laureates — Selma Lagerlöf (1909) (9,09 % female laureates)
• 1911–1920: 0 women among 9 laureates (0 % female laureates)
• 1921–1930: 2 women among 10 laureates — Grazia Deledda (1926), Sigrid Undset (1928) (20 % female laureates)
• 1931–1940: 1 woman among 8 laureates — Pearl S. Buck (1938) (12,5 % female laureates)
• 1941–1950: 1 woman among 7 laureates — Gabriela Mistral (1945) (14,29 % female laureates)
• 1951–1960: 0 women among 10 laureates (0 % female laureates)
• 1961–1970: 1 woman among 11 laureates — Nelly Sachs (1966) (9,09 % female laureates)
• 1971–1980: 0 women among 11 laureates (0 % female laureates)
• 1981–1990: 0 women among 10 laureates (0 % female laureates)
• 1991–2000: 3 women among 10 laureates — Nadine Gordimer (1991), Toni Morrison (1993), Wisława Szymborska (1996) (30 % female laureates)
• 2001–2010: 3 women among 10 laureates — Elfriede Jelinek (2004), Doris Lessing (2007), Herta Müller (2009) (30 % female laureates)
• 2011–2020: 4 women among 10 laureates — Alice Munro (2013), Svetlana Alexievich (2015), Olga Tokarczuk (2018), Louise Glück (2020) (40 % female laureates)
• 2021–2025: 2 women among 5 laureates — Annie Ernaux (2022), Han Kang (2024) (40 % female laureates)

Years without female Nobel Prize in Literature Laureates (expressed as years in which no woman won the prize):

1. From the first Literature Nobel Prize (1901) → Selma Lagerlöf (1909)
   → No woman won for 8 years (1901–1909)
2. Selma Lagerlöf (1909) → Grazia Deledda (1926)
   → No woman won for 16 years (1910–1925)
3. Grazia Deledda (1926) → Sigrid Undset (1928)
   → No woman won for 1 year (1927)
4. Sigrid Undset (1928) → Pearl S. Buck (1938)
   → No woman won for 9 years (1929–1937)
5. Pearl S. Buck (1938) → Gabriela Mistral (1945)
   → No woman won for 6 years (1939–1944)
6. Gabriela Mistral (1945) → Nelly Sachs (1966)
   → No woman won for 20 years (1946–1965)
7. Nelly Sachs (1966) → Nadine Gordimer (1991)
   → No woman won for 24 years (1967–1990)
8. Nadine Gordimer (1991) → Toni Morrison (1993)
   → No woman won for 1 year (1992)
9. Toni Morrison (1993) → Wisława Szymborska (1996)
   → No woman won for 2 years (1994–1995)
10. Wisława Szymborska (1996) → Elfriede Jelinek (2004)
    → No woman won for 7 years (1997–2003)
11. Elfriede Jelinek (2004) → Doris Lessing (2007)
    → No woman won for 2 years (2005–2006)
12. Doris Lessing (2007) → Herta Müller (2009)
    → No woman won for 1 year (2008)
13. Herta Müller (2009) → Alice Munro (2013)
    → No woman won for 3 years (2010–2012)
14. Alice Munro (2013) → Svetlana Alexievich (2015)
    → No woman won for 1 year (2014)
15. Svetlana Alexievich (2015) → Olga Tokarczuk (2018)
    → No woman won for 2 years (2016–2017)
16. Olga Tokarczuk (2018) → Louise Glück (2020)
    → No woman won for 1 year (2019)
17. Louise Glück (2020) → Annie Ernaux (2022)
    → No woman won for 1 year (2021)
18. Annie Ernaux (2022) → Han Kang (2024)
    → No woman won for 1 year (2023)

The longest interval without a female laureate counted 24 years (1967–1990). The shortest intervals counted 1 year (several instances). Recent patterns show that, since 2004, female laureates have appeared roughly every 1–3 years.

The data reveal how slow progress has been toward gender parity – and broader diversity – in the Nobel Prize in Literature. However, the trend of the past decades shows a noticeable improvement, suggesting that recognition of female literary voices is no longer the rare event it once was.

Bart Van Besien