He International Day of Women and Girls in Science It will be commemorated this February 11, with the intention of making visible the contributions of women scientists and putting the focus on the obstacles that they have historically faced, to generate reflection.
Although many women made discoveries that changed the course of science by not remaining in history with their names in the discoveries; This injustice is not anecdotal, but part of a historical bias known as the Matilda Effect, which describes how the contributions of female scientists are attributed to their male colleagues.
Scientists who did not receive the credit they deserved
Recognizing these stories is a way to inspire new generations of girls who want to be scientists. Below is a list of some that, unfortunately, had their discoveries stolen:
- Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958)
British chemist and crystallographer whose X-ray diffraction image, known as Photograph 51, was instrumental in revealing the double helix structure of DNA. However, James Watson and Francis Crick received credit and the Nobel Prize in 1962 for that discovery. Franklin died without seeing that recognition.
- Jocelyn Bell Burnell (born 1943)
British Astrophysics; He was a doctoral student when, in 1967, he discovered pulsars, neutron stars that emit regular radio pulses. Despite being responsible for the discovery, the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to her supervisors, leaving out her contribution.
- Lise Meitner (1878–1968)
Austrian-Swedish physicist and key collaborator in the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938. Her colleague Otto Hahn received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944 for that research; Although Meitner theoretically explained the process and coined the term “fission,” it was not included in the award.
- Marthe Gautier (1925–2022)
French researcher who discovered in 1958 that people with Down syndrome had an extra chromosome, on the 21st, 1958. She lent her preparations for others to examine and her colleague published the research first, so Gautier was relegated.
- Nettie Stevens (1861–1912)
American geneticist who discovered that the X and Y chromosomes determine biological sex. His work was fundamental to modern genetics, but he did not receive the same attention or prestige as male colleagues; on the contrary, his role in this important discovery was minimized.
- Eunice Newton Foote (1819–1888)
Physicist and pioneer in studies on the greenhouse effect; He experimentally described how gases like carbon dioxide warmed the atmosphere decades before other scientists received credit for those ideas. Her work was ignored because of her gender and the prejudices of being a novice scientist.
- Ada Lovelace (1815–1852)
English mathematician considered the first computer programmer for her notes on Charles Babbage’s analytical engine. Although he receives more recognition today, for a long time his contribution was seen as secondary or as an aid to Babbage, and he was not given the central credit he deserves for anticipating modern software concepts.
- Mileva Marić (1875–1948)
Physicist and companion of Albert Einstein, whose collaboration in some of Einstein’s early work is debated by historians; Many letters and testimonies suggest that he participated in analyzes and calculations that contributed to theoretical physics, but his recognition was little or nonexistent.
