I wondered why I recognized none of the names. Some of them died in service abroad, and many were rewarded with government or military honors. Inscribed in exquisite red and black lettering are the names of doctors who operated at the front, chemists who developed explosives and poison gases, biologists who researched into tropical diseases, and mathematicians recruited for intelligence work. What inspired you to focus on the 20th century for your latest book?įARA: I first stumbled across these women almost by accident, when the archivist at Newnham College proudly showed me a handmade album recording the activities of around 600 Newnham members during World War I. PT: You’re known for your work about science in the Enlightenment. Gradually I came to realize that for me personally, the main reason for studying the past is to understand the present-and the whole point of doing that is to improve the future. But my students often complain about subtle ways in which they are made to feel like outsiders: the absence of female portraits on corridor walls, the paucity of women’s works on student reading lists, the near nonexistence of senior women delivering keynote addresses at scientific conferences. Modern legislation means that young women no longer confront the overt discrimination the subjects of my book experienced. The problem was not that science was too difficult, but that I found it boring and was looking for a greater challenge. But I regarded abandoning physics as a positive decision. What drew you into the history of science?įARA: When statistics are compiled about women in scientific careers, I’m counted as a failure who leaked out of the pipeline. PT: You studied physics as an undergraduate at Oxford. In the August issue of Physics Today, Kathleen Sheppard calls the book “an engaging and thoroughly researched narrative” that will inspire further thought about women in the sciences today.
In A Lab of One’s Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War, Cambridge University historian of science Patricia Fara chronicles the achievements of British women who built careers in the sciences even before women were given the right to vote, in 1918. Photo courtesy of Patricia Faraĭespite the obstacles of the era, remarkable women made major contributions to the sciences.
Many of the world’s most prestigious universities admitted only men, and women who did manage to gain high qualifications in the sciences found themselves unwelcome in academic departments and laboratories. In the early 20th century, women who wanted to work in the sciences did not have an easy road.
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