Elsevier admits they’re a major obstacle for women scientists in the developing world

I just received the following announcement from Elsevier:

Nominations opened today for the Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World, a high-profile honor for scientific and career achievements by women from developing countries in five regions: Latin America and theCaribbean; the Arab region; Sub-Saharan Africa; Central and South Asia; and East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. In 2016 the awards will be in the biological sciences, covering agriculture, biology, and medicine. Nominations will be accepted through September 1, 2015.

Sounds great. But listen to what they get.

The five winners will each receive a cash prize of US$5,000 and all-expenses paid attendance at the AAAS meeting. The winners will also receive one-year access to Elsevier’s ScienceDirect and Scopus.

Could there be a more obvious admission that Elsevier’s own policies – indeed their very existence – is a major obstacle to the progress of women scientists in the developing world? How can anyone write this and not have their head explode?