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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Another woman done out of a nobel - Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell - I had no idea it was a woman who discovered Pulsars! **Thread title edited by MNHQ at OP's request**

40 replies

NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 11:53

BBC today

She's donating her £2.3 million prize around work she did in the 70s to a fund to help those who are subject to bias (discrimination) in here

In the article she says "I'm in good company" I think she is alluding to rosalind franklin whose work was famously stolen by 2 colleagues.

I also recently was amazed to discover that a woman designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge and she gave the design to Isembard Kingdom Brunel and it's cited of course as a massive engineering feat and a beautiful structure done by him (her input has only recently been mentioned ?known) here

I continue to be boggled at the number of female discovieries / inventions where the inventor is either never mentioned (while comparable male advances always have their name attached / are mentioned more) or men take the credit. How much more is there?

Thinking about it, I think dark matter was discovered by a woman as well... yes it's here

Pulsars and dark matter are surely 2 of the more well known phenomenon in the physics / astronomy world I think. These women should be as well known as their male counterparts. Or at least,the fact that women discovered these should be more widely known even if the names aren't.

OP posts:
NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 13:00

This is reported on a much smaller scale by women in workplaces all over the world all the time isn't it.

OP posts:
NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 13:00

Oh for fuck's sake.

OP posts:
AdoraBell · 06/09/2018 12:36

When I lived in Latin America a geologist we knew lead a team who discovered a viable location to mine gold. Her name was removed from the report she submitted.

UpstartCrow · 06/09/2018 12:33
Grin
hackmum · 06/09/2018 12:33

Errol There was a nice piece in the Guardian about her today that mentioned the impostor syndrome. She resolved to work extra hard to compensate for the feeling that she wasn't good enough. What was astonishing was that when she told her PhD supervisor she'd detected these new an interesting radio waves, he dismissed them as "interference". But it was he who then won the Nobel prize.

I'm so pleased for her. And also thrilled that she's donating the money to such a good cause.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 12:32

Who was called Sarah Guppy

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NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 12:31

I note I also named Isembard Kingdom Brunel and not the woman who did the design.

I think this is quite entrenched isn't it? I didn't even realise I'd done that.

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NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 12:30

I've asked them to change the title

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ErrolTheDragon · 06/09/2018 12:25

I think it's fine - your link and the second post makes it clear who we're talking about though your omission of her name in the OP is a little ironic!

Dame Jocelyn gave a talk at DDs school once. One of the things she mentioned is how she, like so many women, suffers from 'imposter syndrome'. That's one of the reasons IMO why we need awareness both of the women who've been done down but also those who (somehow!) managed not to be.

UpstartCrow · 06/09/2018 12:23

No! We need these threads, ask @MNHQ to amend the title.

NothingOnTellyAgain · 06/09/2018 12:13

Apologies el bandito shall I ask to get it pulled?

obviosuly not hit the mark i was hoing to!

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BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 06/09/2018 12:09

I knew about her because her brother and his wife are old friends of my parents. I'm glad to hear that she has been publicly recognised in this way, and good for her to put the prize money towards helping others.

ErrolTheDragon · 06/09/2018 12:09

Great she's using the prize for that purpose!Smile

While you're absolutely right, no 'women in science' thread is complete without mention of the one British woman so far who did win a Nobel prize for science (chemistry) - I'm sometimes surprised that more people seem to have heard of Rosalind Franklin than Dorothy Hodgkin. The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships are another excellent idea.

BigChocFrenzy · 06/09/2018 12:03

Yup, women struggle to have career opportunities in science and then often men take credit for their discoveries.

I posted in praise of Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell on a thread elsewhere on MN, which is very active.
I was about to post here too, when I spotted your thread.

As a scientist, I am so proud of her, but she doesn't make the news, unlike the latest sleb dross.

At least she has finally received a big prize and big money -
whuch she has then donated, with amazing generosity, to help others to make a career in physics

ElBandito · 06/09/2018 11:58

Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, let’s actually mention her name.