Written by Violet Rizzieri
The Global Positioning System (GPS), computer programming, navigational orbital mechanics, radioactivity, the internet, computer algebra, HIV testing, malaria treatment, CRISPR…
What do these pivotal discoveries in scientific history – advanced medicine and technology, accelerated travel and space exploration, and created cures that saved millions – have in common?.
They were discovered, developed, and/or advanced by women.
Take a look at this (far from comprehensive) list of scientists, innovators, and inventors you should know about:
Maryam Al-Ijliya Al-Astrulabi, Scientist (10th Century)
Al-Astrulabi invented the astrolabe used in the Age of Exploration. The astrolabe calculated the position of the Sun and prominent stars with respect to both the horizon and the meridian, and the latitude given the time - it is considered the most important invention in the Age of Exploration.
Ada Lovelace, Mathematician (1815 - 1852)
Lovelace is credited as the first conceptual computer programmer and her notes on the analytical engine made the first computer algorithm. She foresaw the multifunctional purpose of the modern computer and computer manipulation of any media.
Fun Fact: Lovelace’s mother first encouraged her to study logic and mathematics to avoid following the path of her romantic and unfaithful husband, Lord Byron.
Marie Curie, Physicist & Chemist (1867 - 1934)
Curie discovered radioactivity and the elements polonium and radium. She invented techniques for isolating radioactivity, leading to mobile x-ray units used to screen over a million soldiers for shrapnel and broken bones during WWI. This technology saved hundreds of thousands of lives and allowed for more precise surgeries and reduced risk of infection from amputation.
Curie is the only person to date to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry AND Physics.
Rosalind Franklin, Chemist (1920 - 1958)
Franklin’s revolutionary work resulted in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA using X-ray diffraction technology.
She was an expert in human and plant viruses, and her work led to the DNA sequencing and X-ray crystallography that have allowed scientists to investigate vaccines for viruses.
Grete Hermann, Mathematician and Philosopher(1901 - 1984)
Hermann’s thesis The Question of Finitely Many Steps in Polynomial Ideal Theory, (1926) provided the mathematical basis and algorithm for abstract algebra and the groundwork for modern computer algebra.
Grace Murray Hopper, Computer Pioneer & Naval Officer (1906 - 1992)
Hopper was a Harvard Mark 1 Computer programmer in 1944. She designed the program that calculated the coefficients of the arctangent series and was the third programmer on the world’s first large-scale digital computer. She created the first “compiler” that resembled English-like code and “flowmatic” language for non-technical business people.
Fun fact: Hopper created the term computer “bug” when she discovered a dead moth in a computer.
Chien-Shiung Wu, Nuclear Physicist (1912 - 1997)
Wu was the first scientist to confirm and later refine Enrico Fermi’s theory of radioactivity decay. The famous “Wu Experiment” monumentally overturned the theory of parity in physics.
Learn more about parity nonconservation, here: There Is No Parity
Katherine Johnson, Mathematician (1918 - 2020)
Johnson’s complex navigational orbital mechanics were critical to sending Americans into space and allowing ships to safely reenter the atmosphere.
Learn more about Johnson’s math, here: Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite over a Selected Earth Position
Vera Rubin, Astronomer (1928 - 2016)
Rubin made one of the most significant discoveries of the 20th century when she found dark matter (the glue that holds the universe together, and what composes 84% of the universe’s material!).
The Rotation of Spiral Galaxies (Rubin’s paper sharing dark matter)
How Vera Rubin discovered dark matter
Gladys West, Mathematician (1930 - )
Radia Perlman, Engineer and Mathematician (1951 - )
Perlman invented the algorithm behind Spanning Tree Protocol that solved an information routing problem. She is considered the “Mother of the Internet.”
Learn more about her algorithm:
Radia Perlman
Flossie Wong-Staal, Virologist and Molecular Biologist (1946 - 2020)
Wong-Staal was the first scientist to clone HIV and map its genes, leading directly to a test for the virus.
Jennifer Doudna, Biochemist (1964 - )
Doudna was a primary developer of CRISPR, a groundbreaking genome editing technology that offers the potential to end all diseases.
Learn more, here:
CRISPR/Cas9
Tu Youyou, Physiology (1930 - )
Youyou’s groundbreaking work led to the discovery of artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, the malaria drugs that have saved millions of lives.
The women listed above are not the just “first women” to make these ground-breaking discoveries – they are the first ever scientists to make these discoveries. No one preceded their efforts and the world would not be as advanced, as healthy, or as connected, without them.
Prior to my research, I knew of perhaps three of these women. Clearly, women have been in the scientific fields for longer than what most people are familiar with. Just because we don’t associate 19th century women with science, doesn’t mean they weren’t doing it. It’s past time we gave them credit for their work.
Not only is credit long overdue, but the importance of recognition and appreciation is clear. Learning and sharing these scientists’ accomplishments can (and will) increase the number of women involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields today, and in the future. Here’s how it works:
When children are asked to draw a scientist, girls are twice as likely to draw a male scientist than a female scientist, and boys almost exclusively draw male scientists. Tragically, this representation divide is engrained when children are young and when girls and boys perform equally well in math and sciences. Then, something happens as girls enter high school science classes – girls stop taking as many hard science and math classes. There needs to be more done to reverse this.
Despite the recent trend of more awareness for these types of biases, our textbooks continue to perpetuate the idea that men are smarter than women simply by excluding the significant achievements attributed to women scientists. Maintaining women’s status as outsiders in scientific fields is particularly harmful to the students and the communities they could someday help. This disparity is thrown into sharper contrast when you consider that studies have conclusively shown that teachers grade the same quality of work differently in boys and girls. This, in turn, dissuades girls from pursuing STEM fields in higher education, further exacerbating the lack of women scientists and role models available to the next generation. (Berwick, Carl).
A study of 8 million middle school students showed girls outperformed boys in high level math with open ended questions, but not with multiple choice. As most (if not all) admissions tests are primarily multiple choice, this bias built into the design of the educational system severely limits admission to high caliber academic institutions (Reardon, S.F). Unsurprisingly, the implications of the outsider mentality are only exacerbated when compounded with race and class (Archer, J, read more: Is Science for Us? Black Students’ and Parents’ Views of Science and Science Careers).
As an example, in some of my STEM classes this year, even when there were an equal number of men and women in the class, the men were often the only ones to raise their hands to answer questions or to volunteer solutions. In general, men take more leaps and guesses, but widely-researched levels of hubris in men also lead to others being kept from answering questions. Women know the same answers, but limit themselves to answering only when they are 100% confident. This leads to women offering fewer correct answers, though at a higher ratio, than their male counterparts. From my perspective, it’s a double-edged sword. Women are more likely to be correct, but less likely to raise their hands. We could have 100 detail-oriented scientists who are committed to offering a correct theory, but we penalize them for their caution.
Beyond school, the gendered science and technology biases only strengthen later in life. For example, successful entrepreneurs (especially in technology innovation) are “male-typed,” meaning successful entrepreneurs are typically described with stereotypically masculine qualities and unsuccessful entrepreneurs are typically described with stereotypically feminine qualities (Jacobs, Tom). A study titled
Gender Characterization in Entrepreneurship, the research states, “it may be helpful to have more women in key decision-making positions when dealing with high‐growth entrepreneurs as women will be more accepting of enterprising individuals who do not fit the masculine straightjacket of entrepreneurship” (Gupta, V.K). This sounds just like the problem in STEM education.
The issue is complex but the solution (or part of it) can be simple…
Show young women more examples of successful scientists who break stereotypes! Celebrate the scientists that look like them!
Investing in better forms of educational structures and affording children access to a more complete and diverse history of science and technology will ensure the next generation’s empathetic innovative leadership.
Now, as I enter my Sophomore year as a pre-med and mathematics student at Bowdoin College, and after spending the summer at Quesnay (virtually) surrounded by successful entrepreneurs and inspiring mentors, here is something important that I learned:
There are many obstacles in the way of success in science and technology – perhaps more than ever before as Covid-19 has thrown racial and gender inequality into starker relief – but if the incredible innovators I’ve highlighted above show any indication of our future, we, as scientists, will rise to the challenge.
Additional Resources:
-Here are four ways to accelerate women entrepreneurs
-Black Girls Code, BlackGirlsCode, Women of Color in Technology
-10 Latinas Making Their Mark in the STEM World│HISPANIC Network Magazine
-Latinas in STEM - Home
-Inverse, “Mary G. Ross: How She Paved the Way for Native American Women in STEM”
-Nautilus, “It’s Time These Ancient Women Scientists Get Their Due”
-Women Who Code
-Smithsonian, “The Incredible Legacy of Susan La Flesche, the First Native American to Earn a Medical Degree”
-Black Girls Code
-Women in STEM: Ultimate Guide for Professional Growth & Advancement
Works Cited:
-Berwick, Carly. “Keeping Girls in Stem: 3 Barriers, 3 Solutions.” Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Fund. 12 March, 2019.
-Fernandes, Paula. Sanfilippo, Marisa. “Challenged Women Entrepreneurs Face.” Business News Daily. 11 June 2020.
-Gupta, V.K., Wieland, A.M. and Turban, D.B. (2019), Gender Characterizations in Entrepreneurship: A Multi‐Level Investigation of Sex‐Role Stereotypes about High‐Growth, Commercial, and Social Entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management, 57: 131-153. doi:10.1111/jsbm.12495
-Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Economics of Antimalarial Drugs; Arrow KJ, Panosian C, Gelband H, editors. Saving Lives, Buying Time: Economics of Malaria Drugs in an Age of Resistance. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2004. 5, A Brief History of Malaria.
-Jacobs, Tom. “Masculine Traits Are Still Linked to Leadership.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 16 Oct. 2018
-Klein, Christopher. “10 Things You Might Not Know About Ada Lovelace.” History. 22 Aug, 2018
-Reardon, S.F., Kalogrides, D., Fahle, E.M., Podolsky, A., & Zárate, R.C. (2018). The Relationship Between Test Item Format and Gender Achievement Gaps on Math and ELA Tests in 4th and 8th Grade. Educational Researcher, 47(5).
-“Rosalind Franklin was so much more than the ‘wronged heroine’ of DNA.” Nature. 21 July 2020.
-Thompson, Clive. “The Secret History of Women in Coding.” New York Times, 13 Feb. 2019.
-Schmidt, Megan. “Meet 10 Women in Science Who Changed the World.” Discover Magazine. 8 March 2020.
-Trzeska, Gia. Kennedy, Morgan. Blake, Diana. Wun, Heather. “The Astrolabe: The Most Important Invention of the Age of Exploration.” Prezi. 31 October, 2013.
-“Women of Color in STEM.” Maryville University
-Cover Image: I am not a Woman in Science. I am a Scientist.