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title: "Women in Antarctica"
chunk: 5/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Antarctica"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:04:25.983025+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
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== Sexual harassment and sexism ==
When heavy equipment operator, Julia Uberuaga, first went to Antarctica in the late 70s and early 80s, she recalled that "the men stared at her, or leered at her, or otherwise let her know she was unwelcome on the job." Rita Matthews, who went to Antarctica during the same period, said that the "men were all over the place. There were some that would never stop going after you." In 1983, Marilyn Woody described living at McMurdo station and said, "It makes your head spin, all this attention from all these men." Then she said, "You realize you can put a bag over your head and they'll still fall in love with you."
Another scientist, Cynthia McFee, had been completely shut out of the "male camaraderie" at her location and had to deal with loneliness for long periods of time. Martha Kane, the second woman to overwinter at the South Pole, experienced "negative pressure" from men with "some viewing her as an interloper who had insinuated herself into a male domain."
In the 1990s, some women experienced stigma in Antarctica. These women were labeled "whores" for interacting with men and those who did not interact with men were called "dykes."
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, women felt that Antarctic operations were "not at all sympathetic to the needs of mothers and that there is a deep concern lest a pregnant woman give birth in Antarctica."
Sexual harassment is still a problem for women working in Antarctica, with many women scientists fielding unwanted sexual advances over and over again. Women continue to be outnumbered in many careers in Antarctica, including fleet operations and trades.
Some organizations, such as the Australian Antarctic Division, have created and adopted policies to combat sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender. The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) encourages women and minorities to apply.

== Women record-breakers ==
Silvia Morella de Palma was the first woman to give birth in Antarctica, delivering 3.4 kg (7 lb 8 oz) Emilio Palma at the Argentine Esperanza base on 7 January 1978.
In 1988 American Lisa Densmore became the first woman to reach the summit Mount Vinson.
In 1993, American Ann Bancroft led the first all woman expedition to the South Pole. Bancroft, and Norwegian Liv Arnesen, were the first women to ski across Antarctica in 2001.
In 2010, the first female chaplain to serve on the continent of Antarctica was Chaplain, Lt Col Laura Adelia of the U.S. Air Force, where she served the people at McMurdo Station.
Maria Leijerstam became the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the continent in 2013. She cycled on a recumbent tricycle.
Anja Blacha set the record for the longest solo, unsupported, unassisted polar expedition by a woman in 2020.

== Honors and awards ==
In 1975, Eleanor Honnywill became the first woman to be awarded the Fuchs Medal from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
The first woman to receive a Polar Medal was Virginia Fiennes, in 1986. She was honored for her work in the Transglobe Expedition. She was also the first woman to "winter in both polar regions."
Denise Allen was the first woman awarded the Australian Antarctic Medal in 1989.

== See also ==

== References ==

=== Citations ===

=== Sources ===
Blackadder, Jesse (2013b). "Heroines of the Ice" (PDF). Australian Geographic (113): 88–98. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
Blackadder, Jesse (2015). "Frozen Voices: Women, Silence and Antarctica" (PDF). In Hince, Bernadette; Summerson, Rupert; Wiesel, Arnan (eds.). Antarctica: Music, Sounds, and Cultural Connections. Canberra: ANU Press.
Burns, Robin (2000). "Women in Antarctic Science: Forging New Practices and Meanings". Women's Studies Quarterly. 28 (1): 165–180. JSTOR 40004452.
Burns, Robin (2001). Just Tell Them I Survived!: Women in Antarctica. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1865083827.
Burns, Robin (2007). "Women in Antarctica: From Companions to Professionals". In Riffenburgh, Beau (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415970242.
Collins, Christy (2009). "The Australian Antarctic Territory: A Man's World?" (PDF). Signs. 34 (3): 514–519. doi:10.1086/593379. S2CID 129881739. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
Dodds, Kaus (2009). "Settling and Unsettling Antarctica". Signs. 34 (3): 505–509. doi:10.1086/593340. JSTOR 10.1086/593340. S2CID 143450248.
Hulbe, Christina L.; Wang, Weili; Ommanney, Simon (2010). "Women in Glaciology, a Historical Perspective" (PDF). Journal of Glaciology. 56 (200): 944–964. Bibcode:2010JGlac..56..944H. doi:10.3189/002214311796406202. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
Legler, Gretchen (2004). "The Sky, the Earth, the Sea, the Soul". In Allister, Mark Christopher (ed.). Eco-man: New Perspectives on Masculinity and Nature. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0813923048.
Lewander, Lisbeth (2009). "Women and Civilisation on Ice". In Hansson, Heidi; Norberg, Cathrine (eds.). Cold Matters: Cultural Perceptions of Snow, Ice and Cold. Umea: Umea University. pp. 89–102.
Peden, Irene C. (1998). "If You Fail, There Won't Be Another Woman on the Antarctic Continent for a Generation". In Rothblum, Esther D.; Weinstock, Jacqueline S.; Morris, Jessica F. (eds.). Women in the Antarctic. New York: The Haworth Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0789002471.
Rothblum, Esther D.; Weinstock, Jacqueline S.; Morris, Jessica F. (1998). "Introduction". Women in the Antarctic. New York: The Haworth Press. ISBN 978-0789002471.
Rossiter, Margaret W. (2012). Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972. Vol. 3. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9781421402338.
Verbitsky, Jane (2015). "Antarctica as a Community". In Wilson, Stacey-Ann (ed.). Identity, Culture and the Politics of community Development. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443871204.
Walker, Gabrielle (2013). Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780151015207.

== External links ==
Women in Antarctica
Guide to the Papers of Elizabeth Chipman
Women in Antarctic science editathons
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
Women in Red