Women are not portrayed in scientific history. Whether, you are scrolling through books from the scientific revolution, or you are surfing the web for memes of scientists, all you are going to see is a bunch of old dudes poking around with their scientific instruments. This lack of portrayal of women in science is a result of men refusing to accept women into scientific society and thinking them less intelligent and less suitable to scientific pursuits. Clearly, they are wrong. Scientific prodigies such Joanne Simpson, and Caroline Herschel, for instance, were outperforming the majority of men in the field. Despite the small number of women scientists, without them, science would not be advanced to the point it is now. It is essential to increase the accessibility and inclusivity of science to women because women will improve the world with science in a way that men do not, and the outcomes of women in science will benefit the natural environment.

         It has been proven that women have different brains and ways of thinking than men, meaning they could come up with solutions that men may not be able to come to. Women have significantly thicker cortices than men, which have been associated with high scores in a variety of cognitive intelligence tests(Science Magazine). Why men would exclude women who are smarter than them in certain aspects is clearly not the result of women’s inferior intelligence. Philosophers, such as Aristotle, were mistaken in believing that men were smarter than women(womenpriests.org). The exclusion of women from science is based entirely on false beliefs of intelligence, feelings of insecurity, and a desire to be dominant over their female counterparts. These ideas are both trivial and backward. Besides from being morally corrupt and sexist, the scientific anomalies that could be achieved with the neurological differences of women should not be thrown away. Women’s brains are complementary to men’s in the respect that the hemispheres of the brain are more connected in women than in men(the guardian). This is not to say that women’s brains are better or worse than men’s, just different. If men and women were to work together in scientific fields it is probable that they could come to more solutions, and make more connections than had they limited their scientific peers to those of their own gender. Furthermore, women, purely based on biological differences, will have different scientific and moral viewpoints, both of which must be incorporated into the advancement of science and education to make it as successful as possible.

         Educated women, namely in science, will better their own lives, which will ultimately lessen environmental impacts. In areas with low education the birth rate is extremely high(NYTimes). Increased birth rates increase the population, resulting in an increased environmental impact from humans. It has been statistically proven that women with higher levels of education will have fewer children than their less educated counterparts(NYTimes). This makes sense. With an understanding of birth control and their own biology, they will be empowered to limit the number of children they have,  which will limit population growth. Furthermore, a large reason why people in developing areas have so many children is that they need their young to help them with manual labor as they grow old. However, when women enter the field of science, they have access to higher paying jobs, that require less physical work(Business Insider). This will allow them to work when they are older, and it will allow them to build more savings. As a result, the need for their children to take care of them as they age will disappear. As the necessity of children goes away, the rate of childbirth will go down, decreasing the global population, which will lessen environmental impacts(prb.org).

        The fact that women are excluded, to any degree, from science is outrageous. Why, based on gender alone, for that is all it is, should people be excluded from pursuing an academic pursuit? I would say the answer is the fear men have of losing their dominance over women. That, and the deeply ingrained train of thought in male society that, for whatever reason, women are not meant for science, and instead should stay home with their kids and cookies. This train of thought and feeling of insecurity needs to end. Women in science will better the world. They will complement the scientific ideas of men, and they will challenge and reinforce them in different ways. Women in science will better themselves by increasing their own personal wealth and knowledge, and they will benefit the natural world in doing so. So, for crying out loud, can we please include them in our scientific pursuits!?

Sources

 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/02/men-women-brains-wired-differently

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/04/study-finds-some-significant-differences-brains-men-and-women

http://www.womenpriests.org/traditio/infe_gre.asp

http://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paying-jobs-for-women-2015-10#13-nurse-practitioner-8

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Lesson-Plans/HumanPopulation/Environment.aspx