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Women in Science - Lessons in Inequality

Physics, Science Education, Private Elementary School, Central NY
By Alyssa Binns Gunderson, published on October 16, 2019 in the Auburn Citizen
One of the many unique aspects of our educational model is the fact that we teach rotating history and science units to our entire student body simultaneously. There are myriad advantages to this method, but my favorite is that we all have a common intellectual interest point when we’re sitting in the lunch room or playing outside at recess. I have watched kids play interactive, self-initiated Revolutionary War reenactments on the playground and have overheard intense debates about astronomical theories at lunch. Any teacher will tell you that there is little better than students discussing academic topics outside of the classroom. It’s a deeply satisfying feeling and encouraging sign that what you’re doing matters in the lives of your students.
All that is to explain why I’ve been sharing stories of famous female physicists during our school-wide morning meetings. We’re nearing the end of a seven-week physics unit where most of the work is hands-on and experiential. With the help of the book "Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers who Changed the World" by Rachel Ignotofsky, I’ve been sharing stories about women who shaped the world with their intelligence, creativity and hard work. As we’ve read through these short biographies, a few patterns have emerged. They’re not surprising, but they’re notable and they shed light on the structural inequalities that continue to shape our society today.
The first thing we noticed was that women who advanced scientific knowledge over the last century and a half had to defy many societal norms just to be given the opportunity to study and practice in their fields. All of the scientists we read about were among the first of their gender, and often their race, to be permitted to receive the appropriate education. Emmy Noether audited classes for more than two years before being admitted as a student in Germany. Elizabeth Blackwell was made to sit separately from male students in the U.S. and was asked to leave lectures on important medical topics to “protect her delicate sensibilities.” The tenacity required to stay devoted to a program that didn’t value or respect them must have been a large emotional burden for these women, and one that surely scared many away from even trying.
Second, access to supportive families with financial means is another theme that is hard to ignore when reading about accomplished scientists. It takes a lot of financial resources to attend college and to then work for years for substandard pay or none at all, as many accomplished women did at the starts of their careers. Imagine earning a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and then using that specialized and valuable knowledge to practically volunteer to set up a radioisotope lab in an old janitor’s closet like Roslyn Yalow did in the 1940s. Yalow went on to earn a Nobel Prize, a goal that would not have been possible if she’d had to financially support herself and her family rather than attend expensive classes and work for little pay.
There are many other examples worth mentioning, but the point that I find myself continually sharing with our students is this: There are many bright and capable people in the world, and relatively few of them have access to the financial and societal tickets to success. We all need to take a hard look at the systems that support or hinder progress for ourselves and our fellow citizens, and we need to recognize the times when our society paves the way for some and puts numerous obstacles in front of others. If we ignore this truth, we insult and undervalue those who have had to work the hardest for their success and we add insult to injury for everyone who feels that they have failed to achieve it. When we teach our students to recognize systems of oppression we help them to see individuals as inherently equal even when the opportunities afforded them are not.

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