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Women scientists work in a laboratory with a microscope and test tubes.
From Stepping Aside to Stepping Forward
Women in science have come a long way, and they do not intend to stop.
From Stepping Aside to Stepping Forward
From Stepping Aside to Stepping Forward

Women in science have come a long way, and they do not intend to stop.

Women in science have come a long way, and they do not intend to stop.

women in science

X-ray crystallography of penicillin
Crystal-Clear Penicillin, 1945
Brittany McWilliams | Apr 3, 2023 | 4 min read
Political activist and Nobel winner Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin pioneered X-ray crystallography to discover the molecular structures of penicillin and insulin.
A drone image of a field site with researchers
Opinion: Universities Must Incentivize Field-Based Research as an Equity Issue
Jessica C. Thompson | Dec 22, 2022 | 6 min read
Female and minority-identifying researchers face extra challenges in becoming field project leaders. Universities should be providing equivalent numbers of solutions.
A black and white photo of a woman in a plumed hat in a laboratory classroom with several men
Birth of The Pill, 1956–1960
Andy Carstens | Oct 3, 2022 | 2 min read
Researchers overseeing the clinical trial for the first FDA-approved oral contraceptive claimed the drug gave the Puerto Rican participants power over their family planning. Critics claimed the women were exploited.
portrait of Marilyn Fogel in front of bookcase
Marilyn Fogel, Biogeochemist and “Isotope Queen,” Dies at 69
Andy Carstens | May 25, 2022 | 3 min read
Fogel mined information from isotopes to explore modern and ancient ecosystems, climatic changes, and evolution.
A stone statue of a medieval gatekeeper holding a spear upright. The clear sky is in the background.
Q&A: Psych and Neuro Journals Primarily Edited by American Men
Dan Robitzski | Feb 24, 2022 | 5 min read
The Scientist spoke with University of California, San Francisco, neuroscientist Eleanor Palser about her study’s finding that women, especially those working outside the US, are underrepresented in some areas of academic publishing.
Deborah Nickerson
Genome Pioneer Deborah Nickerson Dies at 67
Amanda Heidt | Feb 9, 2022 | 3 min read
The University of Washington researcher leveraged data from the Human Genome Project to identify genes underlying various health conditions and advance precision medicine.
Formed of various flowers, this personification cartoon of a female botanist, painted by George Spratt, was pasted into Allen’s copy of The English Flora.
La Botaniste, 1810–1865
Sukanya Charuchandra | Jan 4, 2022 | 2 min read
Elaborate annotations hidden in a copy of Sir James Edward Smith’s The English Flora hinted at the life of a mysterious woman botanist.
aerial photograph of several people standing on concrete with strings attaching them to represent social networks
Biomedical Innovations from Women Less Likely to be Adopted: Study
Annie Melchor | Sep 1, 2021 | 5 min read
An analysis of scientists’ networks finds discrepancies in the diffusion of novel ideas through communities.
A black and white photo of two sets of flowers in test tubes, one of which is wilting
Posies, Poison, and Periods, Early 1920s
Annie Melchor | Sep 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Centuries of folklore backed by scientists in the early 1900s have perpetuated the idea that menstruating women can exert dangerous forces.
Push to Address Long-Standing Challenges for Parents in STEMM
Amanda Heidt | Jul 21, 2021 | 9 min read
The organizers behind a Mothers in Science conference say that it’s time academia provide more support to researchers who are pregnant or looking after children.
Mary Jeanne Kreek, heroin, addiction, methadone, drug addiction, The Rockefeller University,
Mary Jeanne Kreek, Methadone Developer, Dies at 84
Asher Jones | Mar 31, 2021 | 2 min read
A physician and neurobiologist at the Rockefeller University who specialized in addiction research, Kreek was best known for her work on developing the treatment for heroin addiction.
Pandemic May “Roll Back” Women’s Gains in STEMM: NASEM Report
Catherine Offord | Mar 10, 2021 | 2 min read
A National Academies study of COVID-19’s effect on academic researchers adds to the evidence that women’s careers have been particularly damaged by the global disruption.
chrystal starbird
From Nature Lover to Structural Biologist: A Scientist’s Journey
Asher Jones | Feb 26, 2021 | 10+ min read
A gift of medical books from an unlikely source spurred Chrystal Starbird’s scientific career. She talks about what motivates her research on cell surface receptors and the obstacles she has faced as a Black woman in academia.
Updated Dec 21
mentor gender bias stem science citation index publications women
Paper Recommends Women Avoid Female Mentors, Drawing Outrage
Viviane Callier | Nov 24, 2020 | 6 min read
A study makes policy recommendations to optimize citations, but critics say it fails to acknowledge that citations are a biased and narrow measure of scientific success.
Geneticist Drops Out of New Role After Allegations of Gender Bias
Catherine Offord | Apr 9, 2020 | 3 min read
Constantine Stratakis, who was due to lead an institute at McGill University Health Centre, was the subject of eight equal employment opportunity complaints at his last job at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
king abdullah university of science and technology kaust saudia arabia women in science faculty engineering gender
Saudi Arabian Universities Push to Recruit Women Faculty
Andy Tay | Apr 5, 2020 | 4 min read
In the kingdom’s mostly gender segregated education system, expanding department offerings to female students means needing to hire women professors—a scarcity in STEM fields in Saudi Arabia.
Philip Leder, Who Deciphered Amino Acid Sequences, Dies
Ashley Yeager | Feb 12, 2020 | 4 min read
The Harvard Medical School researcher’s work on the genetic basis of protein coding and production led him to make groundbreaking discoveries in immunology, molecular biology, and cancer genetics.
A Woman of Firsts, Early 20th Century
Emily Makowski | Jan 13, 2020 | 3 min read
Florence Sabin was known for her pioneering research and efforts to support women in science.
gender imbalance stem science women researchers publications citations
Men Promote Scientific Findings More Effusively than Women Do
Lisa Winter | Dec 17, 2019 | 2 min read
Male researchers are more likely to describe their work in publications using positive superlatives than their female colleagues are, a habit tied to more citations.
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