The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber presented Mag. Dr. Karin Neuwirth, Institute for Legal Gender Studies with the 2021 Käthe Leichter Award in recognition of her interdisciplinary research on the topic of gender equality with a focus examining gender hierarchies and legal protection norms. In addition to historical gender studies, Karin Neuwirth's research focuses on family, social law, and non-discriminatory work conditions.

For the first time, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber endowed one of the Käthe Leichter Awards in 2021. In lieu of current mandates in regard to the coronavirus pandemic, the scheduled awards ceremony in which Martha Schultz, Vice-President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and Chair of Women in Business, had to unfortunately be postponed. The certificate has been sent in advance.

The award is presented in memory of Käthe Leichter (1895 to 1942), the world's first social scientist and an important pioneer in the field of women's studies.