# kb

id: women-in-science-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-1.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
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parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
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=== Ancient history === The involvement of women in the field of medicine has been recorded in several early civilizations. An ancient Egyptian physician, Peseshet (c. 2600–2500 B.C.E.), described in an inscription as "lady overseer of the female physicians", is the earliest known female physician named in the history of science. Agamede was cited by Homer as a healer in ancient Greece before the Trojan War (c. 1194–1184 BCE). The study of natural philosophy in ancient Greece was open to women. Recorded examples include Aglaonike, who predicted eclipses; and Theano, mathematician and physician, who was a pupil (possibly also wife) of Pythagoras, and one of the school in Crotone founded by Pythagoras, which included many other women. A passage in Pollux speaks about those who invented the process of coining money, mentioning Pheidon and Demodike from Cyme, wife of the Phrygian king, Midas, and daughter of King Agamemnon of Cyme. A daughter of a certain Agamemnon, king of Aeolian Cyme, married a Phrygian king called Midas. This link may have facilitated the Greeks "borrowing" their alphabet from the Phrygians because the Phrygian letter shapes are closest to the inscriptions from Aeolis. During the period of the Babylonian civilization, around 1200


id: women-in-science-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-2.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
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parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
Margaret Cavendish, a seventeenth-century aristocrat, took part in some of the most important scientific debates of that time. She was, however, not inducted into the English Royal Society, although she was once allowed to attend a meeting. She wrote a number of works on scientific matters, including Observations upon Experimental Philosophy (1666) and Grounds of Natural Philosophy. In these works she was especially critical of the growing belief that humans, through science, were the masters of nature. The observations provided a critique of the experimental science of Bacon and criticized microscopes as imperfect machines. Isabella Cortese, an Italian alchemist, is best known for her book I secreti della signora Isabella Cortese or The Secrets of Isabella Cortese. Cortese was able to manipulate nature in order to create several medicinal, alchemy and cosmetic "secrets" or experiments. Isabella's book of secrets belongs to a larger book of secrets that became extremely popular among the elite during the 16th century. Despite the low percentage of literate women during Cortese's era, the majority of alchemical and cosmetic "secrets" in the book of secrets were geared towards women. This included but was not limited to pregnancy, fertility, and childbirth. Sophia Brahe, sister of Tycho Brahe,


id: women-in-science-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-3.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
Although women excelled in many scientific areas during the eighteenth century, they were discouraged from learning about plant reproduction. Carl Linnaeus' system of plant classification based on sexual characteristics drew attention to botanical licentiousness, and people feared that women would learn immoral lessons from nature's example. Women were often depicted as both innately emotional and incapable of objective reasoning, or as natural mothers reproducing a natural, moral society. The eighteenth century was characterized by three divergent views towards women: that women were mentally and socially inferior to men, that they were equal but different, and that women were potentially equal in both mental ability and contribution to society. While individuals such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed women's roles were confined to motherhood and service to their male partners, the Enlightenment was a period in which women experienced expanded roles in the sciences. The rise of salon culture in Europe brought philosophers and their conversation to an intimate setting where men and women met to discuss contemporary political, social, and scientific topics. While Jean-Jacques Rousseau attacked women-dominated salons as producing 'effeminate men' that stifled serious discourse, salons were characterized in this era by the mixing of the sexes. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu


id: women-in-science-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-4.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
In 1741–42 Charlotta Frölich became the first woman to be published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences with three books in agricultural science. In 1748 Eva Ekeblad became the first woman inducted into that academy. In 1746 Ekeblad had written to the academy about her discoveries of how to make flour and alcohol out of potatoes. Potatoes had been introduced into Sweden in 1658 but had been cultivated only in the greenhouses of the aristocracy. Ekeblad's work turned potatoes into a staple food in Sweden, and increased the supply of wheat, rye and barley available for making bread, since potatoes could be used instead to make alcohol. This greatly improved the country's eating habits and reduced the frequency of famines. Ekeblad also discovered a method of bleaching cotton textile and yarn with soap in 1751, and of replacing the dangerous ingredients in cosmetics of the time by using potato flour in 1752. Émilie du Châtelet, a close friend of Voltaire, was the first scientist to appreciate the significance of kinetic energy, as opposed to momentum. She repeated and described the importance of an experiment originally devised by Willem 's Gravesande showing the impact of falling objects is proportional not


id: women-in-science-20260505-5
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-5.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
Science remained a largely amateur profession during the early part of the nineteenth century. Botany was considered a popular and fashionable activity, and one particularly suitable to women. In the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it was one of the most accessible areas of science for women in both England and North America. However, as the nineteenth century progressed, botany and other sciences became increasingly professionalized, and women were increasingly excluded. Women's contributions were limited by their exclusion from most formal scientific education, but began to be recognized through their occasional admittance into learned societies during this period. Scottish scientist Mary Fairfax Somerville carried out experiments in magnetism, presenting a paper entitled 'The Magnetic Properties of the Violet Rays of the Solar Spectrum' to the Royal Society in 1826, the second woman to do so. She also wrote several mathematical, astronomical, physical and geographical texts, and was a strong advocate for women's education. In 1835, she and Caroline Herschel were the first two women elected as Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society. English mathematician Ada, Lady Lovelace, a pupil of Somerville, corresponded with Charles Babbage about applications for his analytical engine. In her notes (1842–43) appended to her


id: women-in-science-20260505-6
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-6.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
Among the successful scientists were Nadezhda Suslova (1843–1918), the first woman in the world to obtain a medical doctorate fully equivalent to men's degrees; Maria Bokova-Sechenova (1839–1929), a pioneer of women's medical education who received two doctoral degrees, one in medicine in Zürich and one in physiology in Vienna; Julia Lermontova (1846–1919), the first woman in the world to receive a doctoral degree in chemistry; the marine biologist Sofia Pereiaslavtseva (1849–1903), director of the Sevastopol Biological Station and winner of the Kessler Prize of the Russian Society of Natural Scientists; and the mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaia (1850–1891), the first woman in 19th century Europe to receive a doctorate in mathematics and the first to become a university professor in any field. ==== Late nineteenth century in the United States ==== In the later nineteenth century the rise of the women's college provided jobs for women scientists, and opportunities for education. Women's colleges produced a disproportionate number of women who went on for PhDs in science. Many coeducational colleges and universities also opened or started to admit women during this period; such institutions included just over 3000 women in 1875, by 1900 numbered almost 20,000. An example is Elizabeth Blackwell, who became


id: women-in-science-20260505-7
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-7.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
In 1892, Ellen Swallow Richards called for the "christening of a new science" – "oekology" (ecology) in a Boston lecture. This new science included the study of "consumer nutrition" and environmental education. This interdisciplinary branch of science was later specialized into what is currently known as ecology, while the consumer nutrition focus split off and was eventually relabeled as home economics, which provided another avenue for women to study science. Richards helped to form the American Home Economics Association, which published a journal, the Journal of Home Economics, and hosted conferences. Home economics departments were formed at many colleges, especially at land grant institutions. In her work at MIT, Ellen Richards also introduced the first biology course in its history as well as the focus area of sanitary engineering. Women also found opportunities in botany and embryology. In psychology, women earned doctorates but were encouraged to specialize in educational and child psychology and to take jobs in clinical settings, such as hospitals and social welfare agencies. In 1901, Annie Jump Cannon first noticed that it was a star's temperature that was the principal distinguishing feature among different spectra. This led to re-ordering of the ABC types by temperature instead of


id: women-in-science-20260505-8
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-8.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
Wu would later also confirm Albert Einstein's EPR Paradox in the first experimental corroboration, and prove the first violation of Parity and Charge Conjugate Symmetry, thereby laying the conceptual basis for the future Standard Model of Particle Physics, and the rapid development of the new field. Women in other disciplines looked for ways to apply their expertise to the war effort. Three nutritionists, Lydia J. Roberts, Hazel K. Stiebeling, and Helen S. Mitchell, developed the Recommended Dietary Allowance in 1941 to help military and civilian groups make plans for group feeding situations. The RDAs proved necessary, especially, once foods began to be rationed. Rachel Carson worked for the United States Bureau of Fisheries, writing brochures to encourage Americans to consume a wider variety of fish and seafood. She also contributed to research to assist the Navy in developing techniques and equipment for submarine detection. Women in psychology formed the National Council of Women Psychologists, which organized projects related to the war effort. The NCWP elected Florence Laura Goodenough president. In the social sciences, several women contributed to the Japanese Evacuation and Resettlement Study, based at the University of California. This study was led by sociologist Dorothy Swaine Thomas, who directed


id: women-in-science-20260505-9
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-9.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
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parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== Europe after World War II ==== South-African born physicist and radiobiologist Tikvah Alper(1909–95), working in the UK, developed many fundamental insights into biological mechanisms, including the (negative) discovery that the infective agent in scrapie could not be a virus or other eukaryotic structure. French virologist Françoise Barré-Sinoussi performed some of the fundamental work in the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS, for which she shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In July 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered evidence for the first known radio pulsar, which resulted in the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics for her supervisor. She was president of the Institute of Physics from October 2008 until October 2010. Astrophysicist Margaret Burbidge was a member of the B2FH group responsible for originating the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis, which explains how elements are formed in stars. She has held a number of prestigious posts, including the directorship of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. Mary Cartwright was a mathematician and student of G. H. Hardy. Her work on nonlinear differential equations was influential in the field of dynamical systems. Rosalind Franklin was a crystallographer, whose work helped to elucidate the fine structures


id: women-in-science-20260505-10
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-10.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
Immediately after the end of World War II, the country saw a "retrenchment of positions for women" as male veterans returned and began filling open job positions. While men benefited from the opportunities of the G.I. Bill, some women had success with programs such as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), a women's branch of the US Navy Reserve. The Society of Women Engineers held their first meeting in 1950. Although NASA was established in 1958, women were only admitted to the astronaut program in 1983, 25 years later. Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Wescoff, Fran Bilas and Ruth Lichterman were six of the original programmers for the ENIAC, the first general purpose electronic computer. Linda B. Buck is a neurobiologist who was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Richard Axel for their work on olfactory receptors. Rachel Carson was a marine biologist from the United States. She is credited with being the founder of the environmental movement. The biologist and activist published Silent Spring, a work on the dangers of pesticides, in 1962. The publishing of her environmental science book led to the questioning of usage of harmful pesticides and other


id: women-in-science-20260505-11
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-11.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== Australia after World War II ==== Amanda Barnard, an Australia-based theoretical physicist specializing in nanomaterials, winner of the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year. Isobel Bennett, was one of the first women to go to Macquarie Island with the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE). She is one of Australia's best known marine biologists. Dorothy Hill, an Australian geologist who became the first female professor at an Australian university. Ruby Payne-Scott, was an Australian who was an early leader in the fields of radio astronomy and radiophysics. She was one of the first radio astronomers and the first woman in the field. Penny Sackett, an astronomer who became the first female chief scientist of Australia in 2008. She is a US-born Australian citizen. Fiona Stanley, winner of the 2003 Australian of the Year award, is an epidemiologist noted for her research into child and maternal health, birth disorders, and her work in the public health field. Michelle Simmons, winner of the 2018 Australian of the Year award, is a quantum physicist known for her research and leadership on atomic-scale silicon quantum devices. ==== Israel after World War II ==== Ada Yonath, the first woman from the


id: women-in-science-20260505-12
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-12.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Situation in the 1990s === Women appear to do less well than men (in terms of degree, rank, and salary) in the fields that have been traditionally dominated by women, such as nursing. In 1991 women attributed 91% of the PhDs in nursing, and men held 4% of full professorships in nursing. In the field of psychology, where women earn the majority of PhDs, women do not fill the majority of high rank positions in that field. Women's lower salaries in the scientific community are also reflected in statistics. According to the data provided in 1993, the median salaries of female scientists and engineers with doctoral degrees were 20% less than men. This data can be explained as there was less participation of women in high rank scientific fields/positions and a female majority in low-paid fields/positions. However, even with men and women in the same scientific community field, women are typically paid 15–17% less than men. In addition to the gender gap, there were also salary differences between ethnicity: African-American women with more years of experiences earn 3.4% less than European-American women with similar skills, while Asian women engineers out-earn both Africans and Europeans. Women are also under-represented in


id: women-in-science-20260505-13
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-13.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== In decision-making ==== As of 2015, each step up the ladder of the scientific research system saw a drop in female participation until, at the highest echelons of scientific research and decision-making, there were very few women left. In 2015, the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas called attention to this phenomenon, adding that the majority of entrepreneurs in science and engineering tended to be men. In 2013, the German government coalition agreement introduced a 30% quota for women on company boards of directors. In 2010, women made up 14% of university chancellors and vice-chancellors at Brazilian public universities and 17% of those in South Africa in 2011. As of 2015, in Argentina, women made up 16% of directors and vice-directors of national research centres and, in Mexico, 10% of directors of scientific research institutes at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In the US, numbers are slightly higher at 23%. In the EU, less than 16% of tertiary institutions were headed by a woman in 2010 and just 10% of universities. In 2011, at the main tertiary institution for the English-speaking Caribbean, the University of the West Indies, women represented 51% of lecturers but only


id: women-in-science-20260505-14
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-14.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== In engineering and related fields ==== Women are consistently underrepresented in engineering and related fields. In Israel, for instance, where 28% of senior academic staff are women, there are proportionately many fewer in engineering (14%), physical sciences (11%), mathematics and computer sciences (10%) but dominate education (52%) and paramedical occupations (63%). In Japan and the Republic of Korea, women represent just 5% and 10% of engineers. For women who are pursuing STEM major careers, these individuals often face gender disparities in the work field, especially in regards to science and engineering. It has become more common for women to pursue undergraduate degrees in science, but are continuously discredited in salary rates and higher ranking positions. For example, men show a greater likelihood of being selected for an employment position than a woman. In Europe and North America, the number of female graduates in engineering, physics, mathematics and computer science is generally low. Women make up just 19% of engineers in Canada, Germany and the US and 22% in Finland, for example. However, 50% of engineering graduates are women in Cyprus, 38% in Denmark and 36% in the Russian Federation, for instance. In many cases, engineering has lost ground to


id: women-in-science-20260505-15
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-15.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
During the early 1960s, the first American astronauts, nicknamed the Mercury Seven, were training. At the same time, William Randolph Lovelace II was interested to see if women could manage to go through the same training that the Mercury 7 undergoing at the time. Lovelace recruited thirteen female pilots, called the "Mercury 13", and put them through the same tests that the male astronauts took. As a result, the women actually performed better on these tests than the men of the Mercury 7 did. However, this did not convince NASA officials to allow women in space. In response, congressional hearings were held to investigate discrimination against women in the program. One of the women who testified at the hearing was Jerrie Cobb, the first woman to pass Lovelace's tests. During her testimony, Cobb said:I find it a little ridiculous when I read in a newspaper that there is a place called Chimp College in New Mexico where they are training chimpanzees for space flight, one a female named Glenda. I think it would be at least as important to let the women undergo this training for space flight.NASA officials also had representatives present, notably astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter,


id: women-in-science-20260505-16
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-16.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== Latin America and the Caribbean ==== Latin America has some of the world's highest rates of women studying scientific fields; it also shares with the Caribbean one of the highest proportions of female researchers: 44%. Of the 12 countries reporting data for the years 2010–2013, seven have achieved gender parity, or even dominate research: Bolivia (63%), Venezuela (56%), Argentina (53%), Paraguay (52%), Uruguay (49%), Brazil (48%) and Guatemala (45%). Costa Rica is on the cusp (43%). Chile has the lowest score among countries for which there are recent data (31%). The Caribbean paints a similar picture, with Cuba having achieved gender parity (47%) and Trinidad and Tobago on 44%. Recent data on women's participation in industrial research are available for those countries with the most developed national innovation systems, with the exception of Brazil and Cuba: Uruguay (47%), Argentina (29%), Colombia and Chile (26%). As in most other regions, the great majority of health graduates are women (60–85%). Women are also strongly represented in science. More than 40% of science graduates are women in each of Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay. The Caribbean paints a similar picture, with women graduates in science being on a


id: women-in-science-20260505-17
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-17.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== European Union ==== Women make up 33% of researchers overall in the European Union (EU), slightly more than their representation in science (32%). Women constitute 40% of researchers in higher education, 40% in government and 19% in the private sector, with the number of female researchers increasing faster than that of male researchers. The proportion of female researchers has been increasing over the last decade, at a faster rate than men (5.1% annually over 2002–2009 compared with 3.3% for men), which is also true for their participation among scientists and engineers (up 5.4% annually between 2002 and 2010, compared with 3.1% for men). Despite these gains, women's academic careers in Europe remain characterized by strong vertical and horizontal segregation. In 2010, although female students (55%) and graduates (59%) outnumbered male students, men outnumbered women at the PhD and graduate levels (albeit by a small margin). Further along in the research career, women represented 44% of grade C academic staff, 37% of grade B academic staff and 20% of grade A academic staff.11 These trends are intensified in science, with women making up 31% of the student population at the tertiary level to 38% of PhD students and 35% of


id: women-in-science-20260505-18
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-18.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== Southeast Asia ==== Southeast Asia presents a different picture entirely, with women basically on a par with men in some countries: they make up 52% of researchers in the Philippines and Thailand, for example. Other countries are close to parity, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, whereas Indonesia and Singapore are still around the 30% mark. Cambodia trails its neighbours at 20%. Female researchers in the region are spread fairly equally across the sectors of participation, with the exception of the private sector, where they make up 30% or less of researchers in most countries. The proportion of women tertiary graduates reflects these trends, with high percentages of women in science in Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines (around 60%) and a low of 10% in Cambodia. Women make up the majority of graduates in health sciences, from 60% in Laos to 81% in Myanmar – Vietnam being an exception at 42%. Women graduates are on a par with men in agriculture but less present in engineering: Vietnam (31%), the Philippines (30%) and Malaysia (39%); here, the exception is Myanmar, at 65%. In the Republic of Korea, women make up about 40% of graduates in science and agriculture and


id: women-in-science-20260505-19
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-19.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== Sub-Saharan Africa ==== Just under one in three (30%) researchers in sub-Saharan Africa is a woman. Much of sub-Saharan Africa is seeing solid gains in the share of women among tertiary graduates in scientific fields. In two of the top four countries for women's representation in science, women graduates are part of very small cohorts, however: they make up 54% of Lesotho's 47 tertiary graduates in science and 60% of those in Namibia's graduating class of 149. South Africa and Zimbabwe, which have larger graduate populations in science, have achieved parity, with 49% and 47% respectively. The next grouping clusters seven countries poised at around 35–40% (Angola, Burundi, Eritrea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique and Rwanda). The rest are grouped around 30% or below (Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Swaziland and Uganda). Burkina Faso ranks lowest, with women making up 18% of its science graduates. Female representation in engineering is fairly high in sub-Saharan Africa in comparison with other regions. In Mozambique and South Africa, for instance, women make up more than 34% and 28% of engineering graduates, respectively. Numbers of female graduates in agricultural science have been increasing steadily across the continent, with eight countries reporting the share of women graduates of


id: women-in-science-20260505-20
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-20.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Underrepresentation of homosexual and bi women, and gender nonconformists in STEM === While there has been a push to encourage more women to participate in science, there is less outreach to lesbian, bi, or gender nonconforming women, and gender nonconforming people more broadly. Due to the lack of data and statistics of LGBTQ members involvement in the STEM field, it is unknown to what exact degree lesbian and bisexual women, gender non-conformers (transgender, nonbinary/agender, or anti-gender gender abolitionists who eschew the system altogether) are potentially even more repressed and underrepresented than their straight peers. But a general lack of out lesbian and bi women in STEM has been noted. Reasons for under-representation of same-sex attracted women and anyone gender nonconforming in STEM fields include lack of role models in K–12, the desire of some transgender girls and women to adopt traditional heteronormative gender roles as gender is a cultural performance and socially-determined subjective internal experience, employment discrimination, and the possibility of sexual harassment in the workplace. Historically, women who have accepted STEM research positions for the government or the military remained in the closet due to lack of federal protections or the fact that homosexual or gender nonconforming expression


id: women-in-science-20260505-21
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-21.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Societal disadvantages === Despite women's tendency to perform better than men academically, there are flaws involving stereotyping, lack of information, and family influence that have been found to affect women's involvement in science. Stereotyping has an effect, because people associate characteristics such as nurturing, kind, and warm or characteristics like strong and powerful with a particular gender. These character associations lead people to stereotype that certain jobs are more suitable to a particular gender. Lack of information is something that many institutions have worked hard over the years to improve by making programs such as the IFAC project (Information for a choice: empowering women through learning for scientific and technological career paths) which investigated low women participation in science and technology fields at high school to university level. However, not all efforts were as successful, "Science: it's a girl thing" campaign, which has since been removed, received backlash for further encouraging women that they must partake in "girly" or "feminine" activities. The idea being that if women are fully informed of their career choices and employability, they will be more inclined to pursue STEM field jobs. Women also struggle in the sense of lacking role models of women in


id: women-in-science-20260505-22
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-22.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Efforts to increase participation === A number of organizations have been set up to combat the stereotyping that may encourage girls away from careers in these areas. In the UK The WISE Campaign (Women into Science, Engineering and Construction) and the UKRC (The UK Resource Centre for Women in SET) are collaborating to ensure industry, academia and education are all aware of the importance of challenging the traditional approaches to careers advice and recruitment that mean some of the best brains in the country are lost to science. The UKRC and other women's networks provide female role models, resources and support for activities that promote science to girls and women. The Women's Engineering Society, a professional association in the UK, has been supporting women in engineering and science since 1919. In computing, the British Computer Society group BCSWomen is active in encouraging girls to consider computing careers, and in supporting women in the computing workforce. In the United States, the Association for Women in Science is one of the most prominent organization for professional women in science. In 2011, the Scientista Foundation was created to empower pre-professional college and graduate women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), to


id: women-in-science-20260505-23
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-23.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
=== Notable controversies and developments === A study conducted at Lund University in 2010 and 2011 analysed the genders of invited contributors to News & Views in Nature and Perspectives in Science. It found that 3.8% of the Earth and environmental science contributions to News & Views were written by women even while the field was estimated to be 16–20% female in the United States. Nature responded by suggesting that, worldwide, a significantly lower number of Earth scientists were women, but nevertheless committed to address any disparity. In 2012, a journal article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reported a gender bias among science faculty. Faculty were asked to review a resume from a hypothetical student and report how likely they would be to hire or mentor that student, as well as what they would offer as starting salary. Two resumes were distributed randomly to the faculty, only differing in the names at the top of the resume (John or Jennifer). The male student was rated as significantly more competent, more likely to be hired, and more likely to be mentored. The median starting salary offered to the male student was greater than $3,000 over the


id: women-in-science-20260505-24
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science-24.md
category: reference
title: Women in science
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_science
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:55.623183+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: women-in-science-20260505-0
summary:
==== Problematic public statements ==== In January 2005, Harvard University President Lawrence Summers sparked controversy at a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce. Dr. Summers offered his explanation for the shortage of women in senior posts in science and engineering. He made comments suggesting the lower numbers of women in high-level science positions may in part be due to innate differences in abilities or preferences between men and women. Making references to the field and behavioral genetics, he noted the generally greater variability among men (compared to women) on tests of cognitive abilities, leading to proportionally more men than women at both the lower and upper tails of the test score distributions. In his discussion of this, Summers said that "even small differences in the standard deviation [between genders] will translate into very large differences in the available pool substantially out [from the mean]". Summers concluded his discussion by saying:So my best guess, to provoke you, of what's behind all of this is that the largest phenomenon, by far, is the general clash between people's legitimate family desires and employers' current desire for high power and high intensity, that in the special


id: center-for-the-history-of-women-philosophers-and-scientists-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_the_History_of_Women_Philosophers_and_Scientists-0.md
category: reference
title: Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_the_History_of_Women_Philosophers_and_Scientists
date_saved: 2026-05-05T04:03:56.830179+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: center-for-the-history-of-women-philosophers-and-scientists-20260505-0
summary:
The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists (HWPS) is an interdisciplinary research center at the University of Paderborn, focused on the work of historical women philosophers and scientists. The Center is responsible for the publication of the Journal of the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists. The Center also awards the annual Elizabeth of Bohemia prize, Europe's first prize honoring women philosophers. The Center received a major grant from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation for the study of women philosophers in Ukraine, and also maintains a research network and talk series for researchers working on the history of women philosophers and scientists. == Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers == The Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers (ECC) is an online encyclopedia that exclusively contains entries on concepts from the work of female philosophers. The ECC is an open access database developed by the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists that went online on June 15, 2018. Each entry is written by an internationally recognized researcher and peer-reviewed before publication. It will contain a brief explanation of a philosophical concept both either developed or significantly advanced by a woman philosopher as well


