Girls in Science

"What if?" By asking that simple question for more than five decades, MIT Professor Millie Dresselhaus (1930-2017) pioneered nanoscience and launched a new field of energy research. 🌟 Born 👩‍🔬13 everyone should know ⬇️

+ https://stemettes.org/zine/specials/women-in-science-everyone-should-know/

The three women pictured in this incredible photograph taken on this day in 1885 -- Anandibai Joshi of India, Keiko Okami of Japan, and Sabat Islambouli of Syria -- each became the first licensed female doctors in their respective countries. The three were students at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania; one of the only places in the world at the time where women could study medicine.

As Mallika Rao writes in HuffPost, "If the timing doesn't seem quite right, that's understandable. In 1885, women in the U.S. still couldn't vote, nor were they encouraged to learn very much. Popular wisdom decreed that studying was a threat to motherhood." Given this, how did three women from around the world end up studying there to become doctors? The credit, according to Christopher Woolf of PRI's The World, goes to the Quakers who "believed in women’s rights enough to set up the WMCP way back in 1850 in Germantown.”

Woolf added, "It was the first women’s medical college in the world, and immediately began attracting foreign students unable to study medicine in their home countries. First they came from elsewhere in North America and Europe, and then from further afield. Women, like Joshi in India and Keiko Okami in Japan, heard about WMCP, and defied expectations of society and family to travel independently to America to apply, then figure out how to pay for their tuition and board... . Besides the international students, it also produced the nation’s first Native American woman doctor, Susan La Flesche, while African Americans were often students as well. Some of whom, like Eliza Grier, were former slaves."

To introduce children to more pioneering female doctors, we highly recommend the picture books: "Dr. Jo: How Sara Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America's Children" for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dr-jo), "Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell” for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-says-women-can-t-be-doctors), and “The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes: The Story of Dr. Patricia Bath” for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-doctor-with-an-eye-for-eyes)

There is also an excellent book about 21 trailblazing women in medicine, “Bold Women of Medicine" for ages 12 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/bold-women-of-medicine

For a fascinating book for adults about America's first Native American doctor, Susan La Flesche, we recommend "A Warrior of the People" at https://www.amightygirl.com/a-warrior-of-the-people

To inspire your kids with more true stories of trailblazing women in medicine of past and present, visit our blog post, "Medical Heroes: Children's Books, Toys, And Clothing Celebrating Doctors and Nurses," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=29667

And, for more books to show kids that science is for everyone regardless of gender, check out our blog post, "Ignite Her Curiosity: Children's Books to Inspire Science-Loving Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13914

This is fabulous.

Nigerian girls win in Ireland with their app which helps people with memory loss Three brilliant Nigerian girls, Rachel Akano, Margaret Akano, and Joy Njekwe, won an international contest in Ireland after building an app called Memory Haven.

Congratulations!

Hands up.

Watching Dr. Dana Scully on "The X-Files" -- which celebrates its 27th anniversary today -- inspired a generation of women to pursue careers in scientific fields according to a study highlighting the importance of diverse gender representation in media! The study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media showed that the "Scully Effect" -- the long-standing idea that Scully's character encouraged women's interest in science -- was very real. Women who watched The X-Files regularly were 50% more likely to work in STEM fields, and nearly two-thirds of the women surveyed who now work in STEM considered her a role model. “Characters’ images and storylines in media shape our everyday lives in very profound ways," says Geena Davis Institute CEO Madeline Di Nonno. "In the case of ‘The Scully Effect,’ it shows that when, in media, we have non-traditional roles for women and girls it helps them envision these pathways for themselves."

Dana Scully, who was played by Gillian Anderson, was a medical doctor turned FBI Special Agent. In the show, which premiered in 1993 and ran for eleven seasons, she was portrayed as intelligent, objective, and skeptical, as well as a brave field agent. "In Gillian Anderson’s own words, Scully’s character 'manifested a woman not yet depicted on TV, and as the fan response soon proved, a desperately needed role model for women of all ages, everywhere... When you look back at the 1990s, Scully was a woman who had not yet been depicted in TV, and as a result of that influenced generations of women and girls to go into the field to science," she says. "We hope that sends a message to storytellers to tell these stories because it does have a really positive impact on our society."

Scully and Mulder were reunited in a fun picture book for ages 5 and up: "The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird" at https://amzn.to/2FIpASY

Fans of this trailblazing TV scientist will also love the Dana Scully Doll at https://amgrl.co/2QoiA7i

If you'd like to introduce your Mighty Girl to the "X-Files," all original 9 seasons are now available in a box set at https://amzn.to/3ilZvxo

Another great way to encourage girls' interest in STEM is through reading -- to discover dozens of empowering titles for children and teens starring science-loving girls and women, visit our blog post, "Ignite Her Curiosity," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13914

A few of our fictional favorites about girls who love science include "Baby Astronaut" for ages 1 to 3 (https://www.amightygirl.com/baby-astronaut), "Charlotte the Scientist Finds A Cure" for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/charlotte-the-scientist-finds-a-cure), "Dragons and Marshmallows" for ages 6 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dragons-and-marshmallows), and "The Case of the Missing Moonstone" for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-case-of-the-missing-moonstone)

How Mathematical Lone Wolf Karen Uhlenbeck Found Her Pack "Mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck has become a load-bearing pillar of both modern mathematics and the broader scientific culture it nests within."

Hardcore.

Civil War doctor Mary Walker received the Medal of Honor in 1866 for her service as the first female surgeon in the history of the U.S. Army. When Congress tried to take it back from her in 1917, she said: "You will receive it over my dead body." She wore the medal until the day she died. Here's how she overcame misogyny to secure her place in American history: https://bit.ly/2ufKjOz

Caroline Haslett And The Rise Of The Women's Engineering Society This week's women in science introduces us to Caroline Haslett, electrical engineer, electricity industry administrator and champion of women's rights.

"Women at WHOI fought an uphill battle towards equality—in the lab and at sea. As the US went through the massive cultural changes in the twentieth century, WHOI opened their ships to female researchers... One of the last sectors to admit women at WHOI was one of its best-known: the manned submersible DSV Alvin. In 1971 Ruth Turner was the first female scientist allowed to dive in Alvin, but there would not be a female pilot until nearly twenty years later when biological oceanographer Cindy Van Dover decided that being a pilot was 'the only way to see the seafloor. Nobody gets a better view than the pilot.'"

Learn more about Cindy: https://go.whoi.edu/CindyVanDover

(Story brought to you by the WHOI Women's Committee)

Girls' Confidence Plummets Starting at Age 8: Here's How to Keep Her Confidence Strong The authors of the bestselling confidence guide for girls share advice for parents on how to stop the steep drop in confidence common among tween girls.