Women in science have often faced, and continue to face, different hurdles and barriers than their male colleagues. Worldwide, only one in three people in science is a woman, and in Germany women are still underrepresented in academic leadership positions.

New exhibition “Versäumte Bilder – Missed Images”

The exhibition visually presents outstanding female physicians and researchers of the Charité: in their respective fields, they were all pioneers and made a significant impact through their work – yet they have not received the same level of attention as their male colleagues. With this project, the Charité aims to grant visual recognition to eight selected female physicians and scientists, to tell their stories, and to provide them with long-overdue and well-deserved recognition.

Making women scientists visible

Using archival materials from the Charité, Gesine Born, director and founder of the Bilderinstitut, created AI-generated images. Through these representations, she also explores the possibilities and limitations of AI. All prompts are published and make the creation process transparent. Because: in developing the portraits, Gesine Born systematically “counter-prompted” algorithmic biases that tend to generate women as overly pleasing and too young.

^{[AI] Helenefriederike Stelzner, generated with Midjourney by Gesine Born | Bilderinstitut. Exhibition project “Versäumte Bilder” at the Charité from 26 February 2026}

“Versäumte Bilder – Missed Images” was opened today at the Rahel Hirsch Center (Luisenstr. 65, 10117 Berlin) and will be on view there until Thursday, 26 March, and thereafter for an additional four weeks in the foyer of the CharitéCrossOver (Virchowweg 6, 10117 Berlin). Afterwards, the individual portraits will move to the various departments to encourage young female researchers and strengthen them in their personal success.

The exhibition is a joint project of Dr. Christine Kurmeyer, Central Women’s and Equal Opportunities Officer of the Charité; Karin Höhne, Head of the Office for Equal Opportunities and Diversity at BIH; Kristina Helena Pavićević, Coordinator of the BIOQIC Graduate College GRK2260; SFB1315; the Excellence Cluster NeuroCure; and SFB1588.

Source: Press Release Charité