March 11th-20th was British Science week, and the best way to end such a great event is obviously to write an enormous article celebrating the contributions of British women to science.
Why is it so important that women get recognized for their amazing contributions? Because they’re amazing contributions. That’s what recognition is for, duh.
Recently, the gender gap in STEM (referring to people working within the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) has been a huge focus in the headlines. If you haven’t heard, the main issue here is that many women take degrees in these disciplines, but only a small proportion of these women actually pursue a career in science. For that reason, I think it’s important to begin by looking at a few organisations dedicated to solving this issue:
Stem Women
Stem Women analysed some of the numbers – just to prove a point. In 113 years, 17 women have been recognised amongst Nobel science laureates – only 2.5% of all STEM Nobel winners are women. The 2016 winners from the American Chemical Society (ACS), which is 158,000 members strong (only 29% of these members women), were made up of 95% men, the majority of those men being white. 83% of nominees were also male.
Maybe you’re tempted to use one of these excuses:
- Women just aren’t interested in this field.
- There aren’t enough qualified female scientists.
- Women are shy.
- No one has complained about this before.
However, as Jonathan Eisen rightly points out in this interview, these excuses – any excuses – hinder progress in science. They simply are not true, and definitely shouldn’t stop progress from being made. Once the issue has been recognized (which, hello, it has!) collaboration is needed to ensure that discrimination is fought against in every way possible:
“Jonathan notes that inequality is’ “pretty pervasive” even if it’s not conscious. For this reason, Jonathan is involved with the NSF UC Davis Advance Program to improve hiring, promotion and retention of women and under-represented minorities in STEM. Changing the UCDavis practices on hiring and tenure processes, as well as policies on leave and time off, tackles biases as well as improving the university’s broader outcomes. He says:
“We’re not getting the best scientists in the world in our institutions because we lose them. Or we don’t hire them.””
Watch the interview below!
WISE (Women in Science and Engineering)
“WISE inspires girls and women to study and build careers using science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Our mission is to get 1 million more women in the UK STEM workforce. Working with you we can boost the talent pool from classroom to boardroom and drive economic growth.”
Women made up just 12.8% of the STEM workforce in 2014 according to WISE, increasing by only 0.2 percentage points since their analysis in 2012.
(Graph from The Guardian)
ADVANCE:
“Collaboration is now the foundation of much of STEM research … this is a huge change”
– Beth Mitchneck, leader of the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program, which supports women in the academic sciences and promotes institutional change.
The Rosalind Franklin Society
This society is named after Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), the first woman I have chosen to name in this celebration of British Women Scientists – purely because she’s been so overlooked, resembling all that needs to change in STEM!
Rosalind Franklin was a biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer, who made huge contributions to understanding the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite. The discovery of DNA and RNA structures helped scientists understand how genetic information is passed from parents to children, as her data, according to Francis Crick, was “the data we actually used” to formulate Crick and Watson’s 1953 hypothesis which is so often overlooked.
Unpublished drafts of her papers show that she independently determined the structure of the DNA helix and the location of the phosphate groups on the outer structure. However the DNA Nature articles were led by the paper of Watson and Crick which only hinted at her contribution to their hypothesis.
Following this, the Rosalind Franklin Society is:
“an honorific, interdisciplinary, and international society which recognizes, fosters, and advances the important contributions of women in the life sciences and affiliated disciplines”
The society notes:
“Franklin symbolizes progress for women in science but her accomplishments were not recognized during her lifetime, awarded posthumously, nor are they completely acknowledged today. To celebrate the life, work, and symbolic power of this remarkable heroine in science, the Society recognizes the work of outstanding women scientists, fosters greater opportunities for women in the sciences, and motivates and educates by examples young generations of women who have this calling.”
Celebrating British Women in Science:
Without further ado, here are some absolutely amazing females, sampling the finest of STEM, proving that whilst men also make fantastic contributions, it’s a collaborative approach that works best, combining people from all backgrounds. Science, after all, impacts and involves us all!
Of course, this isn’t a complete list – it’s actually a very, humiliatingly short list compared to what I wanted to write. I urge you to read ahead (skim if you must) and to find your own female STEM contributor to be inspired by – professors at your university are a great start!
Caroline Herschel (1750-1848)
Born in Germany, Herschel moved to England with her brother (an astronomer) at aged 22, Working as his assistant, Herschel took down her brother’s observations, whilst at the same time mastering astronomical theory, and using algebra and formulae as a basis for observations of astronomical distances of the stars. She discovered 8 comets, 14 nebulae, began her own catalogues (including 561 stars and a comprehensive index)
By working for her brother, she was given a salary of £50 a year – the first salary a woman received for scientific work!
She also received the 1828 Royal Astronomical Society’s gold medal (and the Prussian Academy of Science’s gold medal in 1846), became an honorary member of the society in 1835.
Mary Somerville (1780-1872)
Aside from Herschel, Somerville’s contributions on “The Magnetic Properties of the Violet Rays of the Solar Spectrum” in 1826 were the first of a women’s to be read and published by the Royal Society
In 1827 she was asked to re-write Laplace’s Mecanique Céleste and Newton’s Principia, with the aim of communicating the key concepts of these texts more clearly to the general public.
Mary hoped that by keeping this project secret, any failure on her part would only be acknowledged by those who appointed her as writer. However, the project was a huge success, and the Royal Society even made her a bust to say thanks.
Along with Herschel, Somerville was also made an honourary member of the Royal Society – they were the first women to ever receive this honour!
As a personal interest of mine, Somervilla published Physical Geography in 1848 – a hugely influential and successful book, used for over 50 years in schools post-publication.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917)
Elizabeth Garrett was the first Englishwoman to qualify as a doctor. Her attempts to study at medical schools were denied, however, she received a certificate enabling her to be a doctor from the Society of Apothecaries in 1865 after passing an examination (they later changed their rules to prevent women being able to do this!)
In 1872, Anderson founded the New Hospital for Women in London (later renamed after its founder), staffed entirely by women. Anderson’s determination paved the way for other women, and in 1876 an act was passed permitting women to enter the medical professions. In 1883, Anderson was appointed dean of the London School of Medicine for Women, which she had helped to found in 1874, and oversaw its expansion.
In 1908, she became , the first female mayor in England, as mayor of Aldeburgh (Suffolk).
She and her daughter were also prominent suffragettes (surprise!)
Dame Jane Goodall
As UN Messenger of Peace, Jane Goodall’s projects (via her institute in Africa) are renowned worldwide for contributions to conservation and sustainable development, getting local people involved in the conservation process by helping them to develop their communities and help chimpanzees living nearby. The institute reports:
“The Jane Goodall Institute works to protect the famous chimpanzees of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, but recognizes this can’t be accomplished without a holistic approach that addresses the real needs of local people.”
Roots & Shoots – a global education programme for young people – aims to empower youths to involve themselves in projects to enhance local communities, animals and the environment. These groups are active in over 1,600 schools in the UK, and have spread to over 130 countries worldwide!
The Science Council’s 2014 List of Leading UK Practicing Scientists
This list featured amazing contributors to the scientific field, and with this came a lot of amazing women – I couldn’t feature them all, obviously, but there are a fair few listed below. The full list can be found here.
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Dame Kay Davies
Recognised for leading researcher into molecular analysis of human genetic disease, particularly the genetic basis of neuromuscular and neurological disorders and co-founded the Oxford Centre of Gene Function, of which she is also the co-Director. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Royal Society, and a Member of the Physiological Society.
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Professor Uta Frith DBE
Recognised for her research on autism spectrum disorders, and being one of the initiators of the study of Asperger’s Syndrome in the UK.
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Professor Dame Janet Thornton
Recognised for pioneering the use of computers to study protein sequences and structures. She was one of the first people to classify these structures and describe them in terms of their component part.
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Professor Heather Ann Cubie
Recognised for her research relating to HPV, cervical disease and cancer detection, and worked on validation and quality assurance as a crucial part of clinical HPV testing. She was a founding Director and past-President of the Association of Clinical Scientists (now Association of Clinical Biochemistry) and a founder member of the International Papillomavirus Society.
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Professor Dame Julia Slingo
Recognised for ensuring high quality scientific and technical standards in climate modelling and research as well as her commitment to national and international scientific advisory committees.
In 2008 she became the first female President (Chief Scientist) of the Royal Meteorological Society.
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Elizabeth Moran
Recognised for her long-standing commitment and leadership to public health in food, water, environment and consumer products.
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Sandra Richards
As a primary screener of the cervical cancer screening programme, she was recognised for her development of cellular pathology.
Richards is also a STEM Ambassador, an NHS Healthcare Science Ambassador, and a mentor for the Social Mobility Foundation.
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Dr Catharine Sturgeon
Recognised for developing one of the earliest anti-cancer medicines and her work to encourage optimal use of tumour marker tests now used routinely in the UK and internationally
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Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Aside from having my surname (yay), Dr Pocock is recognised for communicating the wonders of science to young people across the world.
Her ‘Tours of the Universe’ have reached an audience of over 100,000 people including some 60,000 UK school children in the UK and across the world, especially in Africa.
In 2007 she received the UKRC Woman of Outstanding Achievement award and was listed amongst the 100 most influential black people in the country in the 2013 UK Power List.
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Dr Heather Williams
Recognised for celebrating and supporting women in science as co-founder and Director of ScienceGrrl.
She is a STEM Ambassador and a STEMNET ‘Leading Light’, and was nominated for a STEMNET award in 2012.
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Professor Dame Sally Davies
Recognised for being the first female UK government’s principal medical adviser and the professional head of all directors of public health in local government and for championing greater collaboration in medical research across the NHS, charities, research councils and industry.
If you were in doubt about British women’s contributions to science, you aren’t anymore. The best part is that the contributions won’t end, nor should they!
Women worldwide need to be encouraged to be interested in the world around them, and through STEM, help to solve problems such as climate change, inequality, poverty, food and water security – the list goes on!
If ‘real science’ isn’t your thing, you can find some amazing female science fiction authors here.
If you’d like to read more about influential female British women, click here.
Thank you to everybody who helped me write this article, and for all your wonderful suggestions of female scientists and fantastic organisations – it’s been so encouraging to write, and I really hope it motivates you all to chase down the fields you’re interested in.
There’s a first for everything, and there are ‘firsts’ still to come. There’s certainly a fair few ‘firsts’ in this list!
The Sprint Personal Development Programme at Exeter
Sprint is a career programme designed to develop female students to their fullest potential:
“A survey by the Higher Education Careers Unit, measured the earnings of 17,000 recent graduates. They discovered that 70% of women graduates were earning less than £24,000, compared with 55% of men. And this applied even in subject areas where women’s participation was greater than men’s, such as Law.”
Sprint aims to close the gender gap, and support women in achieving their goals. The good news is that Exeter will host Sprint courses for university students in the summer! Find the dates and more information on how to apply here!