by Imed Bouchrika
The gender gap in STEM is a complex issue with many interrelated causes. Some argue that there are fewer women who are genuinely interested in STEM careers. While there is some truth to this, we can never deny that discrimination and sexism are big hurdles. The case of Emmy Noether, an unsung hero in maths and physics, demonstrates this. Discrimination was so intense during her time that she was blocked from having a teaching position at the University of Göttingen by influential male members of the faculty. Nevertheless, she pushed on even teaching for free during her first years without holding any official position. Her lectures were promoted under David Hilbert's name and it was made out to be that she would only be "assisting." Despite this being a constant theme in her life, even enduring an unpaid professorship position, she stayed the course and made great contributions to mathematics and mathematical physics.
Emmy Noether's story illustrates that the journey of women in science is one that is full of challenges. The road to success is paved with issues such as discrimination and sexism. As one author puts it, these issues were primarily driven by the assumed superiority of the male sex (Mozans, 2015). Moreover, women's long trek to recognition in the scientific community did not begin in modern times. Hypatia, who lived between 350 to 370 CE, was one of the earliest recorded mathematicians in history (Ignotofsky, R., 2016). And, just like many of those who came after her, she paid the ultimate price for pursuing her science.
This document will take a deeper look at the 50 most important women in science since the 19th century in no hierarchical order. In this list of important female scientists, please note that it will take into account their fields of expertise, their contributions that made a global impact, the recognitions they have received, as well as positions they have held or currently hold in their current organizations. It is also the goal of the article to promote equality between men and women in science, especially in the academe. Additionally, it aims to encourage young women to take career paths in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
These days, the role of women in the scientific community has evolved from being ignored and undermined to one of recognition and fame. But women in science even today are far from achieving equal footing with their male counterparts in places such as the academe, where women applying for faculty positions still have problems competing with more accomplished men (Ceci & William, 2018). Still, this has not fazed female scientists from pursuing their goals, continuing to discover and innovate for the common good.
A majority of researchers in STEM are still men. Even with the increasing demand for more researchers in science, policies and programs encouraging women to take up careers in STEM are still limited. As such, only 29.3% of the total researchers in the world are female (full-time and part-time).
Source: UNESCO
Fortunately, many female scientists are already achieving great things in science while working alongside their male counterparts. They serve as role models for young female scientists to continue their careers in STEM. In fact, among the highest paying jobs for women, most roles are related to STEM. Below are the 50 famous women in science whose contributions need to be acknowledged.
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Area of expertise: Ichthyology
Major contributions: First on our list of female scientists is Eugenie Clark, who is also known as The Shark Lady. Her work and research on shark behavior led her to produce more than 175 scientific articles that allowed her to dispel assumptions about sharks and promote the preservation of marine environments. She also conducted various studies of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. Clark is also considered as the authority in scuba diving for research.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Atmospheric Chemistry
Major contributions: Susan Solomon, along with her colleagues in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the first to identify the chlorofluorocarbon free radical reaction mechanism as the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole. Her team measured levels of chlorine oxide, which is 100 times higher than expected. Her research had significant effects on various environmental policies around the world.
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Area of expertise: Physics, Optics, and Lasers
Major contributions: Among the influential women in science is Donna Theo Strickland, who is considered a pioneer in the study of pulsed lasers. Together with Gérard Mourou, she invented the chirped pulse amplification without destroying the amplifying material. Her various research on optics has led to contributions to various industries, including corrective eye surgery. By receiving the Nobel Prize for her work as a doctoral student, Strickland became the third woman to have ever won the illustrious prize in Physics (Goswami, 2018).
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Area of expertise: Biology
Major contributions: Linda Brown Buck, together with Richard Axel, made significant studies on olfactory receptors. She mapped the olfactory processes at the molecular level. This includes tracing the journey of odors from the cells of the nose to the brain. She published her findings on the organization of various odor receptors in the nose.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Molecular Biology
Major contributions: Carol Widney Greider discovered the enzyme telomerase when she was a graduate student of Elizabeth Helen Blackburn. They pioneered the study on the structure of telomeres, which protects the chromosome. Along with Jack W. Szostak and Blackburn, they discovered that telomeres are protective from shortening by the enzyme.
A professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Greider was awarded the Richard Lounsbery Award by the National Academy of Sciences in 2003.
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Area of expertise: Molecular Biology
Major contributions: Elizabeth Helen Blackburn co-discovered telomerase, which is the enzyme that replenishes the telomere. She conducted the study with a fellow woman in science, Carol W. Greider. Both women conducted research on the telomere, which is a structure that protects the chromosome. She also worked in medical ethics.
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Area of expertise: Astrophysics
Major contributions: Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell co-discovered the first radio pulsars back in 1967 when she was still a postgraduate student. It was thought to be one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century. While the discovery was recognized by the Nobel Prize committee, she was not one of the recipients of the award.
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Area of expertise: Anthropology, Primatology, and Conservatism
Major contributions: Dame Jane Goodall is the world's leading expert on chimpanzees due to her decades' worth of research. She studied the familial and social interactions of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her research challenged the long-standing belief that only humans can create and use tools and that chimpanzees only eat plants. She is also popular for her work in conservationism and animal welfare.
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Area of expertise: Chemistry and Food Science
Major contributions: Virginia H. Holsinger made significant contributions to the dairy industry. She helped develop Beano and Lactaid, which are milk substitutes for those with lactose intolerance. This led to the creation of the lactose-free dehydrated milk, which has a long shelf life. Holsinger also created the reduced-fat mozzarella cheese used in the USDA's National School Lunch Program and food formulated for emergencies used in the Food for Peace program by the US Agency for International Development.
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Area of expertise: Marine Biology and Conservationism
Major contributions: Rachel Louise Carson's writing, such as Silent Spring, is credited to have spurred the modern global environmental movement. Her strong opposition to chemicals in pesticides led to the nationwide ban on DDT. Additionally, her career in marine biology also helped her write her sea trilogy: The Sea Around Us, The Edge of the Sea, and Under the Sea Wind. These books allowed readers to explore ocean life and how human activities affect the sea.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Molecular Biology
Major contributions: Lydia Villa-Komaroff's notable contribution to science is her discovery of how bacterial cells can be used to generate insulin. Her landmark report was the pioneering process where a mammalian hormone was synthesized by bacteria. It was a significant milestone in the development of the biotechnology industry.
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Area of expertise: Physics
Major contributions: Chien-Shiung Wu, also known as the "First Lady of Physics" and the "Queen of Nuclear Research," made several contributions to the field of nuclear physics. She worked in the Manhattan Project, where she created a process to separate uranium resulting in uranium-238 and uranium-235 isotopes using gaseous diffusion. Wu also proved that parity is not conserved through the Wu Experiment.
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Area of expertise: Chemistry
Major contributions: Ruth Rogan Benerito held 55 patents throughout her life, which include notable inventions. Her studies made great contributions to the textile industry, which include the invention of wrinkle-free cotton. Her research also led to the invention of glassy fibers which are useful in developing laboratory equipment.
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Area of expertise: Physics
Major contributions: Lise Meitner worked on nuclear physics and radioactivity, which led to her discovery, along with Otto Robert Frisch, of nuclear fission of uranium when it absorbs an extra neutron. This discovery helped in the development of nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons in World War II.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Physics and Chemistry
Major contributions: Along with her husband, Pierre, she pioneered and developed the theory of radioactivity. She also created techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes. Furthermore, the wife-and-husband team discovered two elements: radium and polonium. She also developed mobile radiography units during World War I, which provided X-ray services to various field hospitals. They founded the Curie Institutes in Warsaw and Paris, which remain major medical research bodies in the world. Lastly, she is the only woman to win two Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry. She was also the first woman professor at the University of Paris.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Physical Chemistry and X-Ray Crystallography
Major contributions: Rosalind Franklin's work on the x-ray diffraction images, Photon 51, led to the double helix structure of the DNA. Many figures in the scientific community argue that Rosalind should have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins. She continued her research on x-ray crystallography, which led to her pioneering work on molecular structures of viruses, coal, and graphite.
Notable recognitions :
Area of expertise: Biochemistry, RNA Biology, Gene Editing, and CRISPR-Cas
Major contributions: Jennifer Anne Doudna is the leading scientist in the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) revolution due to her leadership and fundamental work in developing CRISPR-mediated genome editing. Along with Emmanuelle Charpentier, she proposed that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used for programmable editing of genomes, which is considered one of the most important discoveries in biology to date. Her discovery has been used in many research from cell biology to treatment of diseases such as HIV, sickle cell anemia, and cystic fibrosis. She is currently a Li Ka Shing Chancellor Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. Furthermore, she also serves as a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes. Lastly, she is the director of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) at UC Berkeley, which is a leading testing center for COVID-19.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Theoretical Physics
Major contributions: Maria Goeppert Mayer developed a mathematical model for the structure of the nuclear shell of the atomic nucleus. She also joined the Manhattan Project, where she studied the thermodynamic and chemical properties of uranium hexafluoride. She also conducted investigations on the possibility of separating isotopes by photochemical reactions.
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Area of expertise: Physics
Major contributions: Lisa Randall's work on cosmology and particle physics includes fundamental forces, dimensions of space, and elementary particles. Along with Raman Sundrum, she developed the Randall-Sundrum model, which describes the world in a warped-geometry higher-dimensional universe. Her studies also include the Standard Model, cosmology of dimensions, and dark matter, among others. Randall is one of the most cited theoretical physicists in the last decade and is currently a Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Chemistry
Major contributions: Alice Augusta Ball developed the most effective treatment for leprosy in the 20th century called "Ball Method." She developed a method that made chaulmoogra oil injectable and easily absorbed by the body. Her technique involved isolating the ester compounds from the raw material while maintaining its therapeutic qualities.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Astronomy
Major contributions: Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming created a common designation system for stars that help her, and other astronomers catalog thousands of stars and other heavenly phenomena. Along with other female colleagues, she helped classify stars published in the pioneering Henry Draper Catalog. Fleming also discovered 310 variable stars, 59 gaseous nebulae, and ten novae throughout her career. Her notable discovery was the Horsehead Nebula back in 1888.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Astronomy
Major contributions: Annie Jump Cannon's work is much similar to Williamina Fleming's in the categorization of stars. She helped develop contemporary stellar classification. Along with Edward C. Pickering, she created the Harvard Classification Scheme, which was thought to be the first serious attempt at organizing stars based on their spectral types and temperature. She was also a member of the National Women's Party and a suffragist. She earned the nickname "Census Taker of the Sky" for classifying around 300,000 stellar bodies.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Chemistry
Major contributions: Isabella Karle was valuable in developing the process of extracting plutonium chloride from a mixture that contains plutonium oxide. She was also the first to apply the methods for analyzing the structure of crystals, which her husband, Jerome Karle, developed. Their work helped advance the field of x-ray crystallography. She also helped her husband in his work on developing direct methods for evaluating x-ray diffraction data, where he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
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Area of expertise: Biochemistry
Major contributions: Gerty Theresa Cori's most notable contribution to science was her role in the discovery of glycogen metabolism. With her husband Carl and physiologist Bernardo Houssay, they discovered the process by which glycogen is broken down into lactic acid in the muscle tissue. They also found out that glycogen is resynthesized in the body and then stored as a source of energy. The process is known as the Cori Cycle.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Astronomy
Major contributions: Caroline Herschel was known for her contributions to astronomy, most notably her discovery of various comets, including 35P/Herschel–Rigollet. The Royal Society also published her New Genera Catalogue, which arranged more than 2000 nebulae and star clusters so her nephew, John Herschel, can re-examine them systematically. She was also known as the first woman in England to hold a position in the government and the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Astronomy
Major contributions: Annie Scott Dill Maunder was considered one of the pioneers in astronomical photography. She worked with Edward Walter Maunder (whom she later married) as an assistant. And together, they observed sunspots and refined various techniques of solar photography. Her mathematical processes also allowed them to analyze years of sunspot data.
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Area of expertise: Astronomy and Planetary Science
Major contributions: Sara Seager is known for her research on extrasolar planets and their atmospheres. She is known as an astronomical Indiana Jones. For example, she created a model for exoplanet Gliese 581 c, which is composed of helium and hydrogen.
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Area of expertise: Mathematics
Major contributions: Dame Mary Lucy Cartwright was one of the pioneers of chaos theory. She observed a large number of solutions to a problem she was researching. This later became an example of the butterfly effect.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Mathematics
Major contributions: Amalie Emmy Noether made many notable contributions to mathematics and physics. As one of the leading mathematicians of her time, she developed theories of fields, rings, and algebras. She also formulated Noether's Theorem, which explains the relationship between conservation laws and symmetry. Due to her countless contributions, her contemporaries, which include Albert Einstein, dubbed her the most important woman in the history of mathematics. To this day, she continues to be an inspiration for women looking to thrive in math careers.
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Area of expertise: Mathematics and Mechanics
Major contributions: Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya made significant contributions to various fields, such as partial differential equations, analysis, and mechanics. She was thought to be the pioneer for women in mathematics around the world. She was the first woman to obtain a Ph.D. in mathematics in modern Europe. Kovalevskaya was also the first woman to work for a scientific journal where she took on the role of editor. Aside from her work in mathematics, she was also known for her novels, essays, and plays. She was also an advocate of women's rights.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Mathematics, Computing
Major contributions: Ada Lovelace is known to be the first computer programmer due to her work on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. She published the first algorithm after recognizing the potential of the machine beyond calculation. To this day, she is considered to be an inspiration by many women to pursue mathematics and computer science.
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Area of expertise: Mathematics, Satellite Geodesy
Major contributions: Gladys Mae West developed the mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth. Her work in the satellite geodesy models is still being used in Global Positioning System (GPS). She programmed an IBM computer to precisely calculate the shape of the Earth known as the geoid.
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Area of expertise: Mathematics
Major contributions: Maryam Mirzakhani's various contributions to the theory of moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces, Teichmüller theory, ergodic theory, hyperbolic geometry, and symplectic geometry pushed various research and the whole field forward.
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Area of expertise: Computer Science
Major contributions: Grace Hopper was a US Navy rear admiral and is considered a pioneer in computer programming who invented the first linkers. She was also considered as one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I. Hopper also popularized machine-independent programming languages, which led to the invention of COBOL. She was also part of the team that developed UNIVAC I.
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Area of expertise: Mathematics
Major contributions: Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck is known as the founder of modern geometric analysis. Her pioneering contributions to mathematics include achievements in gauge theory, geometric partial differential equations, and integrable systems. Furthermore, she also made impacts in mathematical physics, analysis, and geometry.
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Area of expertise: Mathematics and Physics
Major contributions: Baroness Ingrid Daubechies is popularly known for her research in wavelets in image compression. She is also known as one of the most cited mathematicians in the world due to her work in the mathematical methods that significantly improved the image-compression technology. A wavelet from the Cohen–Daubechies–Feauveau wavelet family is now used in the JPEG 2000 standard. She also conducted studies in image processing techniques that are used to determine the age and authenticity of world-famous artworks.
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Area of expertise: Radio Signals
Major contributions: Hedy Lamarr is a popular actress and film producer with a knack for invention. Together with George Antheil, she designed and implemented a frequency-hopping spread spectrum. It cannot be tracked or jammed, which proved useful in World War II. Her patented technology led to various applications such as Bluetooth and WiFi.
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Area of expertise: Medicinal Chemistry, Clinical Research, and Antimalarial Research
Major contributions: Tu Youyou made one of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine in the 20th century. She discovered dihydroartemisinin and artemisinin, which are used to treat malaria. Tu saved millions of lives in South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South China.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Neurobiology
Major contributions: Rita Levi-Montalcini is celebrated for her work in neurobiology due to her discovery of the nerve growth factor (NGF). She isolated NGF from cancerous tissues that cause rapid growth of nerve cells.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Biochemistry and Pharmacology
Major contributions: Gertrude Belle Elion is noted for her use of innovative methods of rational drug design in developing new drugs. Her methods focused on the target of the drug rather than the traditional trial-and-error process. Her research led to the creation of AZT, a drug for AIDS. Some of her significant works also include pioneering the work on immunosuppressive drugs, azathioprine, which is used to fight rejection in organ transplants. She also developed the first antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV), which is used to treat herpes infection.
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Area of expertise: Biochemistry and X-Ray Crystallography
Major contributions: Dorothy Hodgkin contributed significantly to structural biology by making improvements in X-ray crystallography, which helped determine the structure of biomolecules. She also confirmed the structure of vitamin B12, penicillin, and insulin, which led to her Nobel Prize win.
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Area of expertise: Cytogenetics
Major contributions: Barbara McClintock focused her entire life's research on the development of maize cytogenetics. She achieved many groundbreaking studies such as visualizing maize chromosomes, the first genetic map for maize and relating various regions of the chromosome to physical traits. McClintock also discovered transposition and demonstrated that genes have the ability to turn physical characteristics on and off.
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Area of expertise: Bacteriological Chemistry and Refrigeration Engineer
Major contributions: Mary Engle Pennington developed the standards for the safe processing of chickens that are raised for consumption. Additionally, her involvement in the design of refrigerated boxcars led to her research in the transportation and storage of perishable food. She also founded the Household Refrigeration Bureau, which educated consumers in safe practices in refrigeration at home. This was before the popularity of electric refrigerators.
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Area of expertise: Anesthesiology
Major contributions: Virginia Apgar invented the Apgar Score, which is a quick method to assess the health of a newborn immediately after birth in order to combat infant mortality. By the 1960s, the Apgar Score was widely used in many hospitals in the United States. It is still being used today to provide a convenient method for reporting the health status of the newborn infant immediately after birth.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Neuroscience and Psychology
Major contributions: May-Britt Moser and her husband, Edvard Moser, worked on the grid cells in the entorhinal cortex. They also studied various space-representing cell types that make up the positioning system in the brain. Furthermore, they established the Moser research environment at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Lastly, she has led the Centre for Neural Computation since 2012.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Virology
Major contributions: Françoise Barré-Sinoussi did the fundamental work on discovering the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS. Her discovery helped experts around the globe to create diagnostic tests to control the spread of the disease during the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s. Her research, along with her mentor, Luc Montagnier, led to various contributions to the understanding of HIV, such as the role of the immune defenses in controlling the virus and the factors at play in mother-to-child transmission.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Crystallography
Major contributions: Ada E. Yonath is best known for her significant work on the structure of the ribosome. Aside from her extensive work on the ribosome, she also explored the effects of various antibiotics that target the ribosome. She also introduced a novel technique called cryo bio-crystallography, which became a part of structural biology.
Notable recognitions:
Area of expertise: Chemical Engineering
Major contributions: Frances Hamilton Arnold conducted the very first directed evolution of enzymes, which are proteins that catalyze various chemical reactions. Her research resulted in numerous applications, especially in manufacturing environmentally-friendly products, such as renewable fuels and pharmaceuticals.
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Area of expertise: Aeronautics and Engineering
Major contributions: Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is known to be the youngest and first woman to have embarked on a solo mission in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times aboard the Vostok 6 back in 1963. She spent around three days in space and still remains to be the only woman to have been on a solo mission in space.
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Area of expertise: Neuropsychology
Major contributions: Last on our list of famous female scientists is Brenda Milner. She has conducted and contributed numerous works to the field of clinical neuropsychology and is sometimes referred to as the founder of neuropsychology. Her current research involves the interaction of the brain's right and left hemispheres. At more than 100 years old, she is still overseeing various research in neuropsychology.
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While women have not received their rightful recognition in science, they have faithfully worked alongside their male counterparts in the name of scientific curiosity. They have worked as assistants, wives, or students who are often significant contributors to various achievements without the promise of well-deserved honors or acknowledgments like those included in the ranks of famous women scientists.
Many of them missed the opportunity to win prestigious awards, such as the Nobel Prize. They could have put up their own research teams, or could have pondered, "What is a catchy name?" for a scientific endeavor. Throughout history, only 46 women have won the Nobel Prize, 16 for their notable contributions to research; the other 30 female Noble laureates were from the fields of peace, literature, and economics (Modgil et al., 2018). And yet, they have continued to push their fields and disciplines forward.
Various issues still plague the involvement of women in science, especially in the academe. The gender pay gap (UNESCO, 2016), various gender politics, and the general culture of STEM education are still significant issues that often discourage young and experienced scientists alike to achieve their best work. However, steps are being taken to prevent biases, especially when reviewing works of women or people of color, such as double-blind peer reviews (Etkin, 2017). Various studies are also conducted on why there are so few women in STEM in order to implement new policies to encourage more young women to consider such careers (Hill, 2010).
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by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
by Imed Bouchrika, Phd
