Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
February is a special month. Valentine’s Day is this month, of course, but there are some things a little more special to my heart. It is Black History Month, and February 11th is International Women in Science Day. On this special occasion, I will talk about the contributions of a few women scientists, including two African American women scientists.
We all agree that science has changed the world with scientific research, innovations, and inventions. Issac Newton, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Nikola Tesla are some famous scientists that most of us know. But have you ever heard of Katherine Johnson, Jane Goodall, Alice Ball, and Rosalind Franklin? These are pioneer women scientists who dared to face challenges and changed the world with their research work. When people think of female scientists, most think of Marie Curie. However, throughout history, many other women in the field of science did not receive their share of recognition. While reading Stolen Science by Ella Schwartz, I learned a lot about scientists who did not get credit for their work.
Historically, it was difficult for women to get into science fields, but participation has expanded. However, according to a recent United Nations report, there are only 29% of women in the field of science. This means men still outnumber women in science. **
Even when women are in science, they get very little recognition for their works. This leads little girls to have limited inspiration to go into science.
But why is there a difference?
In a research published in 2016 in the Journal of Psychology, researchers claimed that prejudice and discrimination against women scientists result from stereotypes about women. Women were perceived to lack the qualities needed to become hardworking and successful scientists in the research.*
It’s time to change the perception about gender roles by highlighting works of women in science to encourage more women in the field of science.
Today I will be highlighting the contributions of 10 women scientists whose work has influenced our lives in different ways.
Alice Ball
Alice Ball was an African American chemist known for The Ball Method. It was a technique to treat leprosy through a water-soluble form of chaulmoogra oil. At the time, leprosy was a common and incurable infectious disease. Luckily, the Ball Method effectively cured leprosy. Sadly, Alice Ball didn’t get much recognition and died at a younger age but is still remembered as a hero by a few. It’s sad to learn that she got recognized for her work almost 90 years after her death.
Katherine Johnson
Johnson was the first African American Mathematician who worked for NASA and calculated orbital mechanics. She was also known as the human-computer. In 2015, Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal for contributions to science. She died at the age of 102 in mid-February 2020.
Katalin Kariko
Dr. Katalin Kariko is a Hungarian biochemist from the University of Pennsylvania. She had worked on the mRNA vaccine for four decades. She tried explaining her ideas, but many people turned them down. However, when the Covid cases started to surge, researchers decided to look at her work and use all her ideas to create the first Covid vaccine. In my opinion, she should receive the Nobel Prize for science.
June Almeida
Dr. June Almeida was a Scottish virologist who discovered the Coronavirus in 1964 but got minimal recognition. She was a very hard worker and had a passion for looking under the microscope. Instead of going to college, Almeida worked as a lab technician. One day she saw a cell with tiny spokes which looked like the sun’s corona. Almeida tried explaining to others what she found, but people didn’t believe her. Little did they know that this small thing that she found would make history.
Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin was a chemist who always had innovative ideas. She had created a technique that helped reveal the shape of the DNA molecule. She was a hard worker who always participated at her college and research laboratories. However, her male colleagues never included her and often mistreated her. Franklin never let that get in her way. Once one of her male colleagues, Maurice Wilkins, was assigned to be her research partner, but unfortunately, they did not get along. Wilkins gave two of his best friends, James Watson and Francis Crick, an important piece of Franklin’s work, without Franklin’s knowledge. Watson and Crick stole Franklin’s ideas about the structure of DNA. In my opinion, this is extremely disappointing. Watson and Crick took all the credit, and Rosalind Franklin got none. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins received the NOBEL Prize, after Franklin’s death from cancer in 1958. For now, I am happy that the world has started to accept the truth about Rosalind Franklin.
Jane Goodall
Well, this is a household name today. Jane Goodall is a British primatologist who is the pioneer expert on chimpanzees. She was named a UN Messenger of Peace.
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was a British Physician known as the first American woman to receive a medical degree. She promoted women in the field of medicine. Despite all the challenges of gender discrimination, she managed to get into a medical school in New York. Thanks to Dr. Blackwell for inspiring more women in the medical field.
Ada Lovelace
Lovelace was a British Mathematician and the first computer programmer in the 1840s. She was the daughter of a poet and mathematician. Her father was a well known poet named Lord Byron but she was never very close to her father.
She even worked with Charles Babbage in creating a computing program. Her contributions to mathematics and computer science may never be forgotten.
Marie Curie
Curie was a French-Polish Physicist whom most of us know for her contributions in the field of radioactivity. She also received the Nobel Prize for Physics and Chemistry. But life wasn’t easy for her as a woman scientist.
Marie Tharp
Whenever we talk about the Continental Drift Theory, we think about Alfred Wegener and Harry Hess. But do you know who Marie Tharp was and her contributions? Marie Tharp was an American Geologist who created the first map of the ocean floor spreading. Earlier in her life, most of her work was unnoticed. However, recently she has been recognized for her contribution to geology.
Compared to their male counterparts, women still form a small percentage of the workforce in science and continue to receive less recognition and opportunities. It is critical to expand women’s participation in science and highlight their stories to inspire young women. Today, these women scientists are inspirational to many youths like me, and they should get all the credit they deserve.
If you are interested in learning more about the scientists whose work went unnoticed in history, I recommend Stolen Science by Ella Schwartz.
Reference:
* Stereotypes About Gender and Science: Women Scientists
Linda L. Carli, Laila Alawa, YoonAh Lee, Bei Zhao, and Elaine Kimhan
lcarli@wellesley.edu Psychology of Women Quarterly 2016, Vol. 40(2) 244-260
**https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/world/women-in-science-you-should-know-scn/index.html
“Stolen Science” by Ella Schwartz