Women In Astronomy Essay

And then towards the middle of the 1600, when the Scientific Revolution was beginning, women slowly began to work with the fields of math and science. Even though they

In Reflections on Gender and Science by Evelyn Fox Keller, Keller writes about the presence of masculinity, rather than femininity, in science. Keller begins makes it clear that, although there are significantly more men than women in the field, the issue at hand is not the lack of women working in science, but the “attribution of masculinity to science as an intellectual domain” (76). This means the language, tone, and overall dominance. Keller states that this stems from the myth that masculinity is associated with objectivity and neutrality, whereas femininity is associated with subjectivity and emotions. Therefore, because of these two associations, it is believed that men are better suited to be scientists than women, which is why the

Many women have had an impact on science over the years and their accomplishments tend to be underappreciated by the public eye. Often times, there are important people that have made a significant impact on the world that we have today that do not receive the credit and attention that they deserve for their accomplishments. Recognizing and acknowledging people that have made an impact on society now and in the past, is an important part of learning about history and the accomplishments of the past.

Throughout Gender and Race in the Physical Sciences, I have been struck by how rarely in STEM we shed a light on the women of color that already exist and thrive in the sciences. Often, when we discuss diversity in the sciences, we only discuss it in the frame of a problem. More specifically, we tend to focus on the problem of there not being enough of these women in the field. As a result of the lack of attention paid to pioneering women in STEM, many young people of all backgrounds are inclined to believe that there are no women of color doing great things in the field- that there are no role models. With this paper, and an on-campus event to be held in the spring, I hope to challenge people’s assumptions about what a scientist looks like, and inspire people through a discussion of innovative women of color.

As per research ‘gender’ provides a perspective from which one could examine the biases that exist in the larger society. Some believe that to arrive at a more eloquent understanding of the problems of women in science , one should begin by asking what is the nature of science space that leads to under-representation and marginalisation of women rather than questioning the situation of a woman’s life that makes it difficult for her to pursue science.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Scientific Revolution, which was the development of new sciences and technology, and the Age of Enlightenment, which was the so called “age of reason”, had sparked women’s

As hard as is it is today for women to succeed in the sciences, one must give kudos to those that came before us. These are the women that paved the way for today's generation of women scientists. One such woman is Rosalind Elsie Franklin, a chemist who had a great impact on the modern day field of genetics.

As German biographer Johann Eberti acknowledged while recounting the life of astronomer Marie Cunitz, the perpetual conflict between a flourishing career and stable home life compelled women to abandon their household responsibilities to truly liberate their science career (Document 1). From the masculine perspective, critics of women representation, including Eberti, saddled immense responsibility on these women, attempting to scrutinize their every move to disincentivize increased involvement. Without a societal affirmation to share responsibility and champion the progress of inclusion, women retreated into the shadows of the household, stirring resentment towards the patriarchy for failure to evolve. Beyond the acquiescence of morality to household responsibilities, women who attempted to balance the endless obligations were affirmed by society as the paradigm of success, setting impossible standards for the majority. When Dorothea Schlozer first received her Ph.D., she was editorialized by the Göttingen newspaper as the ideal gentlewoman scholar, because of her mastering of household and scientific duties while maintaining her appearance. (Document 13). With the small minority of women able to balance domestic and career responsibilities, the mainstream media subjectively commandeered these women as the optimal view of society; After all, for the newspaper to appease the predominantly conservative

In Mae’s early life she was already interested in the aspect of science she knew she wanted to do something in that field. Although when she told her parents and peers this, they discouraged her. Although they didn’t encourage her because women equality and racism were still a little heavy, she persevered. She studied up on different type fields of science in the library, but most times on astrology. She had a dream to be an astronaut, and no one was going to stop her. At the age of sixteen she attended stanford university and got her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and African

One of the women that worked in NASA was Katherine Johnson. Katherine Johnson was the first black woman to graduate from college at age 18. Johnson went to West Virginia University at age 14 because women couldn’t go to school past 8th grade. Katherine Johnson attends the institute in West Virginia. But also went to another school in the summer so that she get could get a teaching job in Virginia. During her summer she learned French and Mathematics. Later Mrs. Johnson went and worked for NASA, there she was solving calculations that could

It describes how women did not get as much recognition in the scientific world due to only men in this profession being viewed/praised by society. “Most people have not heard of the women that will be discussed shortly, but surely all have heard of Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton, and Rene Descartes”. “...families criticized their daughters for their absorption in such inappropriate, inelegant, and unfeminine endeavors.”

Many men and women believed that women shouldn't research science because it is unwomanly like and that they belong in the kitchen. Johann Eberti a german astronomer said about Marie Cunitz in 1650, "She

Today’s college students have the opportunity and freedom to choose their major and their career path. Many factors influence the decision of a college student’s career paths including background, general interests, personal strengths, time commitment, and job outlook. Although many important decisions are made in college, one of the most important is the choice of major and career track. Out of hundreds of majors the science and engineering fields are under-represented by women. Although the numbers of women in science technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, majors has been increasing in the past years, women still are in the minority in the STEM fields. In her study, Lona Whitmarsh

Hypatia’s most well-known improvements to science and astronomy include her re-inventing of the hydrometer and charting of the stars. In mathematics, she is most notable for her contributions to working on different conic sections.Simply by dividing cones in different ways on a plane, she was able to develop the idea of different graphs and shapes such as parabolas, ellipses, and hyperbolas. Her understanding of the conic sections lead her to be one of the key contributors to the invention of the astrolabe as well (Morrow 1998). Christianity became extremely popular in Alexandria during the time when Hypatia lived there along with many riots breaking out. She was a pagan and known for defending science against any form of religion. She was mercilessly killed by an angry mob who accused her of religious turmoil. Although she died a horrible death of being stripped of her skin and limbs, her legacy lived and still lives. Mathematics was thriving in Athens, so that is where her students eagerly fled to. Although, many of her works that were stored in the library of Alexandria were destroyed by an Arab invasion. Hypatia is an important symbol for many generations and will always be considered to be the first woman in mathematics.

Sitting in my general biology class today, learning about amazing biological discoveries, my male teacher jokingly said “Did you know there are women in science?” then went on to joke about how these women who had just made an amazing biological discovery even had PhD’s. As he went on to talk about the amazing things these women did, he talked about the discovery like he had for the other ones made by men. If women can make biological discoveries like men can why are they looked at differently in their graduate fields of study. In this essay I will explore the gender issue in education through the lens of feminism by evidence shown in past decades and today. Education was primarily for men while women were not even allowed in some classrooms, while over time this has changed.