Women in science
Why history’s most famous scientists are usually a bit weird
Obsessed with work, insensitive, socially detached, and neglectful of family and friends — these may not be the most endearing qualities in a person, but they are just a few of the common characteristics a researcher found when studying some of the world’s most famous and prolific inventors.
Finding the forgotten women who programmed the world’s first electronic computer
Six women programmed ENIAC for the United States Army during World War II, but when the computer was presented to the public, they weren’t even thanked or named. Now a lawyer and filmmaker is trying to set the historical record straight and help rediscover all of science’s forgotten female pioneers.
Larry Summers ‘may have done a service to women’ with his sexist remarks
A decade ago, then-Harvard president Larry Summers ignited a firestorm when he suggested women weren’t predisposed to the sciences. Eileen Pollack, author of a book on the brouhaha, credits the widely castigated Summers for at least raising the question — and says society still isn’t encouraging women in key fields.
Women are the face of India’s Mars mission, but they’re still the exception
When India celebrated the success of its first Mars mission, a photo of middle-aged female scientists draped in saris became the viral face of that triumph. But that doesn’t mean female scientists face an easy path, and Rhitu Chatterjee says much more needs to be done for gender equality.