Science classrooms and laboratories look far different today than they did in the decades when women rarely had access to advanced education. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Feb. 11 celebrates women and girls building careers in STEM and expanding their presence in fields that once left little room for them.
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International Day of Women and Girls in Science honors the persistence of women who stayed committed to science despite limited access to education and research roles. Long before universities opened their doors, many entered the field through side doors, temporary roles and sheer determination, creating paths that others could later follow.
Early barriers in American science
The U.S. historical record shows women participating in scientific work as early as the 18th century, particularly in fields such as botany, natural history and agriculture. Women, including Jane Colden in colonial New York and Martha Daniell Logan in South Carolina, conducted original research, classified plant species and corresponded with international scientific networks. Contemporary scientists recognized their work, even though it took place outside universities and formal laboratories.
By the 19th century, U.S. higher education began opening to women, particularly through public colleges established under the Morrill Act and the growth of women’s colleges. By 1880, more women were attending colleges. Admission, however, did not translate into equal access to scientific training or scientific careers. Colleges and professional institutions often steered women toward teaching and other socially accepted career paths, while men dominated advanced scientific study, laboratory leadership and professional recognition.
The timeline of women in American science shows this uneven progress. Individual breakthroughs appeared decades before institutional change. Women earned degrees, published research and contributed to fields including astronomy, chemistry, medicine and mathematics long before they were routinely hired as faculty members, admitted to professional societies or credited as lead scientists.
Education access widens for women
Barriers to scientific training helped fuel 19th-century efforts to expand women’s access to higher education in the United States. Women’s colleges and a small number of coeducational institutions opened pathways in mathematics, medicine and the sciences, often creating their own laboratories at a time when women were restricted or excluded from many university research spaces. In some cases, support from individual faculty allies allowed women to gain early research experience, though access remained uneven and limited.
Labor shortages during World War I and World War II further altered hiring patterns, drawing women into technical offices, industrial laboratories and research units previously dominated by men. Broader institutional change followed later. Women’s rights campaigns of the 1960s increased pressure on universities and employers to adopt equal-access policies, while expanded access to family planning in the mid-20th century helped more women pursue extended education and long-term scientific careers.
Research representation expands
By the early 21st century, women’s participation in scientific education and research had expanded significantly in the U.S. Women earned close to half of all medical degrees and a substantial share of biomedical science doctorates, while undergraduate participation in mathematics and the physical sciences approached similar levels. Engineering and computing, however, continued to report lower female representation than many other scientific fields.
Scientific recognition in the U.S. also became more visible. Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol Greider shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of telomerase, recognizing research conducted within U.S.-based academic institutions. In 2018, Frances Arnold received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on directed evolution, becoming the first American woman to win a Nobel in that field. These awards demonstrated a growing recognition of women’s contributions to U.S. university-based scientific research rather than a sudden shift in participation.
Unconventional routes to science
Career paths in science do not follow a single pattern, and many women reached research roles through routes influenced by personal circumstances and structural barriers. Hiring concerns tied to assumptions about family life often redirected applicants toward teaching, policy work, community science outreach or leadership in professional organizations.
Other women continued doctoral study and research appointments while pregnant or raising young children, balancing academic timelines with caregiving responsibilities. Some researchers also entered fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics after starting in music, design or literature, carrying creative training into technical study and applied research.
Representation matters in progress
Scientific work benefits when teams draw from a wider range of lived experiences and problem-solving approaches. Groups that include women alongside men tend to test ideas more thoroughly, question assumptions earlier and arrive at solutions that hold up under real-world conditions.
Seeing women teach STEM and lead labs also makes technical careers feel realistic to girls and supports long-term participation. As participation grows, old stereotypes lose ground and hiring pools expand. Industries facing talent shortages gain skilled workers, which supports productivity and long-term economic stability across the health care, engineering and technology sectors.
Women strengthen scientific growth
For generations, society often treated women in science as rare exceptions, a perception that quietly influenced how many young girls imagined their own futures. As more women lead research teams, publish major discoveries and teach in universities, that outdated view gives way to visible role models who make scientific careers easier to picture and pursue. Expanding representation today builds a foundation where talent, not bias, determines who participates in the laboratories, engineering firms and research institutions of tomorrow.
Mandy writes about food, home and the kind of everyday life that feels anything but ordinary. She has traveled extensively, and those experiences have shaped everything, from comforting meals to small lifestyle upgrades that make a big difference. You’ll find all her favorite recipes over at Hungry Cooks Kitchen.
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