Abstract
Every person should be aware of significant events in the history of women in science. For ages, women in science have faced numerous obstacles in pursuing their research interests. Women scientists, on the other hand, have become the focus of a new academic field. In the United States, a completely new field of investigation called variously as “women and science,” “gender in science,” or any combination of those terms has emerged in the last fifteen years. Historically, women could only gain scientific legitimacy under unusual conditions, which hampered their ability to do independent study.
The different elements that fostered the legitimacy of women in science, as well as the problems that women in science have had to overcome in the last century, are highlighted in my essay analysis based on Schiebinger’s work. Further research on the elements that should be improved in Schiebinger’s arguments regarding women in science have also been highlighted.
In the academia, women scientists have become the subject of a new branch of study. For over three centuries, women were barred from joining scientific societies. Had women been completely integrated into science from the start, we might not be facing the kinds of tensions that women experience now in terms of childbearing and professional life. Women in science have had to overcome the stigma of being disruptive to genuine scientific intellectual activity and hence being excluded from scientific institutions. As a result, they have overcome the barrier of having to stay at home whereas the men go to conduct research. Women had to overcome geographical discrimination in science disciplines, where women were given less respect for pursuing science-related subjects. Furthermore, they have disproved the myth that women’s physical, psychological, as well as intellectual characteristics prevent them from producing excellent research. It has only been roughly a century since institutions in the United States and Europe cautiously welcomed female students. Scientific women have debunked the myth that female employees are merely support staff or that they lack knowledge of complex scientific and political concerns (Schiebinger).
Consequently, Higher education was only offered to women from extremely enlightened as well as wealthy families during the early modern period. For some women, the Enlightenment in the 18th century opened them new possibilities. Women mathematicians in France have a high social position, allowing them to work independently and gain acknowledgment from their male colleagues. After marrying or being related to science professors, several women received the attention they deserved throughout history. They were also allowed to do and assist in scientific study. For instance, in the 1870s, Madame Curie proceeded to Paris to finish her studies in mathematics and physics…she met and married Pierre Curie, through whom her scientific legitimacy was established. Her spouse had the professional connections, and she worked as his assistant at first. Their collaborative work in radiation earned them a Nobel prize in 1903, and she took over his post at the Sorbonne after his death, where she pursued her research and was given the Nobel prize in inorganic chemistry for the discovery and isolation of the elements radium and polonium in 1911 (Schiebinger).
Schiebinger argues that in order for women to gain prominence in scientific fields, Individuals should be alert to cultivating the changes that newbies propose, which may occur on multiple levels. She further argues that employing companions debunks the idea that scientists are atomistic individuals and realizes that society is made up of interconnected cooperative groupings whereby each individual’s interests have to be satisfied. Furthermore, she claims that outcomes will extend beyond breakthroughs in research aimed solely at women, citing primatology, biology, as well as anthropology as three areas which have been substantially influenced by a female influx. In Asia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand have all achieved gender parity in science research, while Namibia and South Africa are close to joining this elite group in Africa. Bolivia (63 percent) and Venezuela (56 percent) have the largest number of female researchers. Women are still underrepresented in STEM fields (Zacharia et al. 54).
Works Cited
Schiebinger, Londa. “WOMEN IN SCIENCE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES.” Women in Astronomy, edited by C. Megan Urry et al., Dordrecht, Boston, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993, pp. 11–19.
Zacharia, Zacharias, et al. Education and Employment of Women in Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, Including AI and Its Influence on Gender Equality. European Parliament, 2020.
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