Body
s said in the introduction, women
throughout history have made
fundamental discoveries that have
changed our perception of science, the universe
and ourselves. Some examples of these
magnificent women are: Marie Skłodowska
Curie, Rosalind Elsie Franklin, Lise Meitner, Ada
Lovelace and Grace Hopper. They are role
models for new generations not only because of
their achievements in the STEM field but also A Oxford University recently gave female students
that were taking math and computer science tests
an additional 15 minutes to go over their work
with the excuse that studies have shown that
women tend to double check their answers. This
makes them a lot slower than men during exams
and also makes them commit mistakes that they
wouldn't do if they had more time. What made
this a controversial action is that men weren't
given the extra time women had. After the results
because they helped change the perception of
women in society. of the exams were published, the university
reportedly said women performed better as a
result of the time extension. However, this causes
a lot of debate among academics that said this was
sexist because it suggests that women had a lower
understanding capacity than men and they require
special treatment. The college professor that
applied the exam said that an exam should be a
demonstration of understanding and not a time
trial and that he was going to continue giving
extra time for exams but he will also give males
students this opportunity.
Great examples of the achievements of these
women are Marie Sklodowska that won not only
one but two nobel prizes in the branches of
chemistry and physics; Grace Hopper that was a
computer scientist and also a Navy rear admiral
that saved millions of lifes by using her
intelligence to design softwares to decode
messages in the second world war; and the
mathematician Ada Lovelace who created the
first computer algorithm. These important figures
have not only contributed in the different
branches of science but also in mathematics,
engineering, history and technology.
This is surprising considering the fact that the
scientific community is made up of eighty
percent men and only twenty percent women.
Recent studies made by Cambridge University
said that women in science are less likely to
publish their work or collaborate internationally
than men because of their lack of confidence.
Gender inequality has not only been seen in
science but also math and technology. An
example would be in the recent exams of math
and technology applied by Oxford University.
Engineering is another field where there is gender
discrimination. A recent study made by Diana
Rosado in the University of Liverpool describes
this discrimination as a tiny glass wall that you
can see through but you will never pass through
it and it will always be there. In engineering,
women never get manager positions because of
the idea men have about women under high
pressure circumstances. She also explains that
recent statistics showed that the number of female
engineers has grown considerably since 2003
because nowadays women are more conscience
about their abilities in STEM careers.