Throughout history women have been struggling to earn respect in the eyes of men in the fields of science and mathematics. So far women have made tons of discoveries and some might say they have earned that respect. But those accomplishments are battles; we haven’t won the war.
Women are still working to get the respect they deserve by right and in modern times most men have accepted them into the scientific community. However, there are still some skeptics and because of the lack of respect of women in science, the course of history has been altered.
Even today, many people believe that a woman’s main role in society is as a stay-at-home mother whose only job is to care of the home and family, but women have and continue to accomplish many other things as well. Women have made so many discoveries throughout history. There are women leaders in science including Marie Curie, who discovered the elements polonium and radium, Rosalind Franklin, who discovered the structure of DNA and that there are two types of DNA, and many more. They had to overcome the disadvantage of being underestimated and seen with contempt by their counterparts.
Women have been underestimated in their skills and intelligence for a very long time. And whenever a woman has shown high intelligence and strong-will she is often criticized and made fun of. When a woman is disrespected, she can feel discouraged to continue focusing on something that truly fascinates her. But some women managed to push through and were able to continue to excel in their field of study.
There have been times in history when a woman has made a discovery, but it is not taken seriously or it is disregarded. An example of this is noted physical chemist and crystallographer, Rosalind Franklin. Franklin was an excellent student and passionate scientist. After graduating with Second Class Honors she began working in Paris. It was there that Franklin was taught x-ray diffraction. After years of study, she moved on to Kings College and entered the race to discover DNA along side her PhD student Raymond Gosling. Franklin moved into the laboratory of James Watson while he was on vacation. She made excellent headway with her work, trying to photograph DNA fibers. Watson instantly began to criticize Franklin because of her gender and the fact that she did not always act like a woman. She would put her hair up instead of leaving it down and was very studious with her work. This was in 1951.
Franklin was the first person to discover that DNA had two forms, a dry A type and a wet B type. Her famous Photo 51 was of the B type and showed that DNA had a double helix structure. In 1953, Maurice Wilkins disclosed the Photo to Watson and his partner Francis Crick, who were trying to build a correct model of the DNA structure, without Franklin’s permission. They correctly built a model of DNA before Franklin could show her findings. She never knew that Watson and Crick based their study on her research.
Even though Franklin did not receive credit until much later, she continued to work on the condition that she would not further study DNA. She made several key discoveries on viruses and established the foundation of structural virology. Sadly, in 1956, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She continued her work until she died on April 16, 1958, at the age of 37.
Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant scientist who changed the course of history, but was put into a competition with a man who underestimated her skills and didn’t give her credit when her findings helped his accomplishments. Just imagine how different history would have been if she was given credit before her death.
I know a woman myself who can personally relate to this type of discrimination. Dr. Margo Aswad, a surgeon in Charlotte, North Carolina, was faced with male colleagues who underestimated her skills. Soon after she received her PhD, she was flown out to a crash scene where a truck driver’s arm was stuck under his truck. When she arrived officials who were waiting on a doctor approached her. When they met they said to her, “Oh thank God the nurse is here.” Taken back by this she replied with, “No sir. I am the doctor.” She received some stares from the men as she approached the trapped man and amputated his arm, seemingly proving to be less squeamish than the men behind her.
As the records show, this was not a new trend then or now. While women have gained more respect since the 1950s, there are still obstacles for them to overcome. In 2013, only one-fifth of physics PhDs were given to women with only have being American. And it is estimated that only 14% of American physics professors are women. Also black and Hispanic women and men have an even harder time obtaining PhDs, with only 13 African-Americans and 20 Latinos being awarded this degree in the field of physics.[1]
But we have something to show for our hard work. According to Women Moving Millions (http://www.womenmovingmillions.org), women make up 51% business school applicants, 67% of college graduates, 51% the PhDs earned, and 70% of 2012 Valedictorians in the United States.
The percentage of women in science to men still has quite as substantial gap but with hard work, support and dedication, women have made their way into the fascinating and advanced fields of science and mathematics. Yes, we have won countless battles, and although we have not won the war, we are on our way.
[1] Eileen Pollack, “Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?” New York Times, 3 October, 2013.
