Women in science
Throughout history, women in science have not always been given the credit they deserve, and the effects of this are felt today, with only around 30 per cent of female students selecting STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) in higher education. It’s time to celebrate and champion the pioneering women who have paved the way for future generations of female scientists – including biographies of inspirational women in science history such as Caroline Herschel, Rosalind Franklin and Ada Lovelace, interviews with leading women at the forefront of scientific research, and the science behind the issues affecting women in today’s society.

22 pioneering women in science you really should know about

We’ve all heard of the likes of Ada Lovelace, Rosalind Franklin and Marie Curie, but there are many more famous women in STEM that deserve your attention.
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Women in science given less credit than men for their contribution to research papers

New dataset detailing the article attributions of university researchers reveals significant gender gap.
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The ordinary women in science history

Science historians Anna Reser and Leila McNeill tell us about the women who engaged in science throughout history but don’t always get remembered.
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Beyond Marie Curie: The women in science history we don't talk about

Science historians Leila McNeill and Anna Reser tell us about the hidden women who contributed to our understanding of the world.
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The life-changing and long-lasting influence of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin had a fascinating and eccentric life, one that continues to inspire astronomers today.
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6 women who are changing chemistry as we know it

These six chemists – three of them Nobel Prize winners – are all incredible researchers whose accomplishments need to be shared.
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How Ada Lovelace's notes on the Analytical Engine created the first computer program

She may be one of the most famous women in science history, but what is it that Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace achieved to gain such eminence?
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A mathematician, a computer scientist and a visionary

On the anniversary of her birth, we remember one of the most important women in science history, and celebrate the life and work of Ada Lovelace, the first computer scientist.
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CRISPR scientists awarded 2020 Nobel Prize for chemistry

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna are the first women to receive the Nobel Prize for chemistry in the same year.
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Who really discovered CRISPR, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna or the Broad Institute?

When it comes to gene editing, the secret is in the scientist’s DNA.
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5 astounding facts about Marie Curie

Curie, who won two Nobel prizes, is the subject of the 2019 film Radioactive.
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Why being wrong is essential to science

Theoretical physicist Fay Dowker says that scientific advances depend on debate.
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Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: the first to describe what stars are made of

Payne-Gaposchkin was a woman of many firsts: the first to receive a PhD from Radcliffe College, the first to be professor at Harvard, and the first to discover the composition of stars.
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Is women's health really all that bad?

‘Men die quicker, women are sicker’ is an adage among medical professionals. But is women's health really worse than men's? Gabrielle Jackson explains in this extract from Pain and Prejudice.
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How gravity influences your mental abilities

Psychologist Dr Elisa Raffaella Ferrè wants to know how a lack of gravity will change the way we think.
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How not to date a psychopath

As Valentine’s Day rolls around again, forensic psychologist Kerry Daynes explains how to avoid the pitfalls of dating.
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As history proves, women in science need more than just a lab coat

How the background and environments of famous female scientists inspired and influenced their approach to work.
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Does data discriminate against women?

We talk to Caroline Criado Perez about the gender data gap and how it causes everything from mild inconvenience to potential fatality.
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An extraordinary botanist whose problems of identity still confront female scientists today

A wealthy aristocrat, head of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps during WWI, and a university academic renowned for her study of fungi genetics, but always struggling for equality.
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What is it really like to walk in space?

On 11 October 1984, astronaut Kathy Sullivan made history by becoming the first American woman to walk in space. We find out what it was like.
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The exceptional professor who solved the structure of insulin

As nine scientists line up to receive their Nobel prizes in Stockholm this week, all male, it’s worth remembering the last time there was a British woman among their number.
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Why aren't there more women in science?

Girls are not picking as many STEM A-levels as boys, while professional female scientists are dropping out of the field. Is it time for change?
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Why we need to rethink the way we classify people

Humans love to sort ourselves into neat boxes - by gender, race, sexual orientation and more. But, in this extract from Data Feminism, Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F Klein argue that it's time to dispense with these classifications.
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Mathematician and NASA pioneer dies age 101

Katherine Johnson calculated rocket trajectories and Earth orbits by hand during NASA's early years and was portrayed in the film Hidden Figures.
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