Women in STEM: Innovators & Pathbreakers

Science, Technology, Engineering,  and Mathematics (STEM) is considered the fuel of human innovation. This is precisely why it is concerning that only 23% of the STEM workforce are women.

While the gender gap in STEM has been attributed to many factors, including the fields’ tendency to be unwelcoming to women, one compelling reason is the absence of popular female role models in these areas. While there are plenty of historic female icons in STEM, we have not offered them the credit they deserve. To reverse this trend, here is an overview of influential women in STEM over the decades:

• Virginia Holsinger, Food Scientist

Holsinger’s groundbreaking research into dairy alternatives for lactose-intolerant people led to the creation of the medicine Lactaid. This lactase supplement helps dairy-sensitive people break down lactose in their bodies, enabling them to consume dairy products.

• Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, Computer Scientist & Mathematician

Admiral Hopper is credited with developing COBOL, the computer programming language developed for use in business. COBOL is still widely used today. She also wrote the first computer manual. She also joined the United States Navy in World War II.

• Katherine Johnson, Space Scientist & Mathematician

Johnson was one of the first African-American women to work as a scientist at NASA. She played an important role in helping the US win the Space Race by calculating Alan Shepard’s space travel trajectory. She also calculated the trajectory of the Apollo 11 Mission of 1969.

• Dr Ellen Ochoa, Engineer & Former Director of Johnson Space Center

Dr. Ellen Ochoa is an American Engineer, researcher, inventor and the first Hispanic woman to go into space. She is also the first Hispanic person and second woman to become the Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Dr Ochoa has spent nearly 1000 hours in space.

• Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Virologist

Barré-Sinoussi is a French Virologist who co-received the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for her work in identifying the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) as causing AIDS. She is a professor at Institut Pasteur and the Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Division.

• Alice Augusta Ball, Chemist

Miss Ball was the first African American woman and female graduate of the University of Hawai’i with a Master’s degree. At just 23 years old, she developed the ‘Ball Method’ to inject chaulmoogra oil efficiently, which was the most effective treatment form against Leprosy until the 1940s. She died before she could publish her findings, and her contributions only became public decades later.

These are only six women whose achievements in STEM have improved people’s quality of life and led to remarkable innovations. It is important to remember and rightfully credit female scientists for their contributions. This is key to rewriting the notion that there are not many female contributions to the sciences, and it can help inspire young women to pursue careers in STEM fields.

Sources:
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/women-in-stem 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Ball