In the nineteenth and twentieth century, women were not allowed to have a career, they had to stay at home to cook, clean and take care of the children. At the same time, science became more accessible and not just something for the highest elite. The combination of these two circumstances made it very hard for women to engage in science.
There aren’t many famous female scientists, Marie Curie is probably the first female scientist that comes into mind, but try to think of two or three others. It isn’t that easy, is it? What is the reason for the fact that even now, in a time and culture where men and women are treated equally, there still are fewer female scientists than male scientists?
It is proven that women are equally good at maths and sciences as men. But still the science faculties in universities are crowded with men and men get systematically chosen over women for academic nominations. The biggest cause of this inequality is probably stereotypes. When you mention a scientist, most people will immediately imagine a male person. You can often hear people say that girls are not as good at maths as boys and that women are less ambitious and have no technical mindset. Even when it is proven that this is not the case, it’s hard to step off the idea of only men being able to engage in scientific research or develop a scientific theory.
If we want full equality of men and women in sciences, or in any other field, we will have to stop stereotyping and start treating women in the same way as man. Let’s try to look beyond those stereotypes!
