Women and Scientific
Literature
Explore the place of women in the history of science through literature and the recognition of overlooked figures.
The place of women in scientific literature
For centuries, women were systematically excluded from scientific institutions and academic recognition. Their contributions were often attributed to male colleagues and erased from the official history of science.
Overlooked figures and representation issues
The Matilda Effect
Named after Matilda Joslyn Gage, this phenomenon describes the systematic denial of women’s scientific contributions,
often credited to their male colleagues.
The underrepresentation of women in contemporary scientific literature perpetuates these imbalances. School textbooks and popular narratives continue to erase women’s contributions, reinforcing stereotypes and discouraging scientific vocations among women.
Excerpts and literary references
Women who succeeded in science had to be twice as good as their male colleagues to receive half the recognition.
Margaret Rossiter
“Les Oubliées de la science”
Danielle Fauque documents the journeys of numerous French women scientists.
Ellipses Publishing, 2018
More literary references:
“Inferior”
Angela Saini explores how science has historically minimized or misinterpreted women’s roles,
and how these biases persist today.
Beacon Press, 2017
“Hidden Figures”
Margot Lee Shetterly reveals the untold story of African American women mathematicians
who contributed to NASA’s success.
HarperCollins, 2016
“Lab Girl”
Hope Jahren reflects on the experience of being a woman scientist today.
Knopf, 2016
“Les Découvreuses”
Yaël Nazé retraces the lives of twenty women who revolutionized science.
Vuibert, 2014
“The Madame Curie Complex”
Julie Des Jardins analyzes how women scientists have navigated between recognition and conformity.
Feminist Press, 2010
Timeline of Overlooked Women Scientists
1863–1930
Mary Whiton Calkins
American psychologist, pioneer in the study of memory and the self, denied a doctorate by Harvard.
1878–1968
Lise Meitner
Austrian physicist, co-discoverer of nuclear fission, ignored for the Nobel Prize awarded to Otto Hahn.
1912–1997
Chien-Shiung Wu
Chinese-American physicist, her experiments on parity earned a Nobel for her male colleagues.
1920–1958
Rosalind Franklin
British biophysicist, her images of DNA enabled the discovery of its structure without her being recognized.
1922–2006
Esther Lederberg
American microbiologist, pioneer in bacterial genetics, overshadowed by her Nobel-winning husband.
1943
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
British astrophysicist, discoverer of the first pulsar, not included in the Nobel awarded to her supervisor.