Ever wondered how women scientists were erased from the records?
Science historian Margaret Rossiter once asked whether there were ever women scientists. Perhaps it was the answer—no—that propelled her to discover the treatment of women in science. THREAD
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Science historian Margaret Rossiter once asked whether there were ever women scientists. Perhaps it was the answer—no—that propelled her to discover the treatment of women in science. THREAD
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She went on to write “Women Scientists in America,” a book in which she exposes “the systematic way that the field of science deterred women, and…the ingenious methods that enterprising women nonetheless found to pursue the knowledge of nature…”
amazon.com/Women-Scientis…
amazon.com/Women-Scientis…
Rossiter invoked the Matilda Effect (named after Matilda Gage, a historian who herself was overlooked): the “tendency of men to prohibit women from reaping the fruits of their own toil” which has subversively suppressed recognition of women’s contributions.
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This isn’t just a theoretical problem. In a seminal paper in 2013, researchers describe how people evaluate the work of men researchers to be more valuable than that of women and how people are more interested in collaborating with men.
gap.hks.harvard.edu/matilda-effect…
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gap.hks.harvard.edu/matilda-effect…
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The Smithsonian covered Rossiter’s work in a recent article, highlighting the work of a number of women scientists who have been overlooked. Their credentials “were dismissed as irrelevant in favor of stereotypes, fears, and long-cherished views.”
smithsonianmag.com/science-nature…
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smithsonianmag.com/science-nature…
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I thought I’d share the work of some talented women scientists here, lest folks still think science is only for men.
Barbara McClintock was the first woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (in 1983; for her work on genetic transposition).
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Barbara McClintock was the first woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (in 1983; for her work on genetic transposition).
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Grace Murray Hopper led the team that created the first computer language compiler (in the 1950s).
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Marie Maynard Daly was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in chemistry (1947). She studied cholesterol and heart disease as well as smoking and lung health.
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Maria Mitchell was the first professor of Vassar college and discovered a comet in 1847.
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Flossie Wong-Staal was the first to clone HIV and map the genome of the entire virus.
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Jewel Plummer Cobb was an early pioneer in translational medicine, studying the effect of chemotherapy on cancer.
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Elizabeth Blackburn discovered telomeres (with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak) and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009.
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Vera Cooper Rubin established evidence for the existence of dark matter.
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Chien-Shiung Wu worked on uranium enrichment for the Manhattan Project. Her work helped two men earn the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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Frances Oldham Kelsey stood up against pressure to approve thalidomide for morning sickness, preventing unknowable numbers of birth deformities.
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Klara Day von Neumann was the primary developer of code for the 1940s ENIAC computer (but is not listed on the paper about that work).
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There are many more amazing women in STEMM. I hope young women out there can see they fit in to a long tradition of excellent science by women, including women of color.
Don’t let anyone else limit your ambitions. You belong here. 💪
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Don’t let anyone else limit your ambitions. You belong here. 💪
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Great addition from @capitalteacher on Eunice Foote, who identified greenhouse gases 3 yrs before the man who has been credited with the discovery:
