by This week, our class focus centered on the role of women in the world of science and technology. As we have learned, the role of women in science has expanded greatly since the dawn of the Scientific Revolution in the 16th century. While science was a male dominated field throughout most of history, waves of feminist movements originating in the 19th century began the strides that allowed women to gain opportunities to study in fields of science. By the 20th century, a vast amount of women were making advances in science. One of the most prolific women in the STEM field was Katherine Johnson, the famous NASA mathematician that saw the success of multiple missions into space, including the 1969 Apollo moon landings. The obstacles and hardships that Katherine overcame shows how far the feminist movement have included women into science, and the great achievements that women and science can achieve. I believe that Katherine Johnson is a standout woman in a field of science, and represents the pinnacle of feminism in science.
In the 16th century, the Scientific Revolution was primarily driven by white males. Large contributors to science in the era included Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Kepler, and many more scientists of the same sex and ethnicity. The new emerging study of science was thought to be more oriented towards males as opposed to females. Francis Bacon noted that science was inherently masculine, and with nature being more aligned with the female persona. This initial way of thinking prevented women from accessing education and gaining widespread participation in science for centuries. While there are prominent female scientists in the time before the 19th century, it was this period that a large shift allowed science to be more accessible to women due to feminism. The first wave of feminism began in the 19th century and brought upon the ability for women to vote, the right to an education, and the right to have autonomous employment. These basic rights set the groundwork for the second wave of feminism, which began in the 1960’s, only 60 years ago. This wave saw legislation for equal pay, reproductive rights, and anti-discrimination policy implemented. Finally, the third wave of feminism, which began in the 90s, is ongoing today, as calls for diversification in science, freedom of expression, and critiques of science are highlighted. These three waves of feminism have ushered in the opportunity for millions of women to have access to education and employment in many fields of science. One of the pioneers of this opportunity who has shown the excellence that women have to offer is NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.
Katherine Johnson was born in August of 1918 in West Virginia, and showed that she was gifted from a very young age. She was able to complete 8th grade by the age of 10, and enrolled in West Virginia State College. At 18 Katherine graduated summa cum laude with degrees in mathematics and in French. In 1952, NASA sought to hire black women to fill the role as “computers” at the Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia. Katherine was able to gain the job, and thus began her legacy at NASA. As a computer, Katherine was responsible for performing and checking technological calculations. Her natural genius and driven character helped her excel in this position, which allowed Katherine to handle important calculations that sent astronauts into low earth orbit in 1960. Katherine was then trusted to check the calculations of electronic computers that helped plot the trip of the 1969 Apollo mission to the moon, which was due in part to Katherine’s numerical checking. Katherine’s career continued through the decades, handling new technology such as satellites and space shuttles, until her retirement in 1986.
Katherine is a prime example of the advancement of women because of the various barriers of entry that she had to overcome in the field. While Katherine was already alienated for being a woman in a science field, she also had to deal with the hardships of being an African American during the very turbulent times of civil rights. Despite facing discrimination based on her color and sexual identity, Katherine was able to prosper in the NASA program, an area dominated by white men. Katherine’s career and achievements are a monument to the work that millions of women and supporters have worked towards since the dawn of the scientific revolution in the 16th century. While it was unfathomable to think that women would be in science all those centuries ago, the fight for equal rights and opportunities allowed amazing women such as Katherine Johnson to show how far science and technology can excel thanks to the work of women. Thanks to multiple waves of feminism throughout the 19th to 21st centuries, the role of women in science has expanded greatly.
Sources:
Katherine Johnson Biography- https://www.biography.com/scientist/katherine-g-johnson
Image 1- http://web.colby.edu/st112a-fall20/files/2020/09/galileo-galilei-1564-1642-using-a-telescope-circa-1620-photo-by-hulton-archivegetty-images.jpg