Tweets!

Hungry Women's embracing technology!

https://twitter.com/HungryWomenBlog

5 More Great Scientists and Engineers

(who also happen to be women)

#5GreatSciEng

As mentioned in the introduction this post grew (and grew - into 3 posts) from my experiences in Outreach. One of the schools at a TEAtime lecture was so enthused by the effects of freezing things with liquid nitrogen (such as tennis balls, bananas, aliens etc.) that they asked me to come to their school and freeze some more things. Having already wowed them with the 5 Greats I now take with me everywhere, I decided to prove a point and bring 5 more with me. And if I go again, I'll bring 5 more...and 5 more...and...

Ida Noddack née Tacke (1896-1978)

Her team discovered the two 'missing' elements of the periodic table in 1925 and she was reportedly the first scientist the postulate the idea of Nuclear Fission and the concepts behind it. However her story is one of great controversy and it is only recently being acknowledged how important her discoveries were - and how great a scientist she was.

Lise Meitner (1878-1968)

Partially driven by the arms races spurred by the two World Wars, Nucelar Fission was a hotly pursued subject. Lise Meitner, despite having support and funding restricted due to the fact she was a woman, was the first not only to publish the term 'Nuclear Fission' but also to come up with a working, theoretical explanation. Her contribution was downplayed, however, by Otto Hahn, the chemist in whose laboratory she ran the tests that proved her theory. Hahn went on to receive the Nobel in Chemistry for the work while Meitner was all but forgotten.

Attempts were later made to rectify this error by jointly awarding Meitner, Hahn and a third scientist, Fritz Strassman the Enrico Fermi Award and, posthumously, naming element 109 'meitnerieum' (Mt) after her.  Today she is recognised as one of the pioneering scientists of nuclear research.

Grace Hopper (1906-1992)

Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Murray Hopper was one of the first programmers of the Havard Mark I computer and a pioneer in computer science. She was the first to put forward the idea of machine-independent programming languages and also came up with the term 'de-bugging' after removing and actual moth from a computer. As well as being renowned as a technical genius, her success also lends itself to her immense marketing, political and business skills.

Hedy Lamarr (1914-200)

Hollywood actress ($3000/week MGM contract on first arriving in Hollywood)

Patent for 'secret communication system'

Bouillon cubes inventor

Not your average extracts from a CV. Yet they all belong to one person, Hedy Lamarr. Her patent (mentioned above) intended for torpedo guidance systems later became a key part of the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS technology. Her genius revolutionised telecommunications  - and her acting roles revolutionised the film industry.

Amalia Ballarino

Amalia Ballarino is leading the team behind the HTS (high temperature superconducting) Power Transmission Cables Project, as part of the LHC high luminosity upgrade at CERN. The LHC is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator performing some of the most cutting edge experiments in particle physics today. Thanks to the team led by Ballarino during its construction, the HTS Current Lead Project reduced the power consumption of the LHC by a factor of three [1]. In 2006 she was awarded Superconductor Industry Person of the Year, the industry's most prestigious international award.

[1] A. Ballarino. Application of high temperature superconductors to accelerators.
Report, CERN, 2000. 
http://at-mel-cf.web.cern.ch/at-mel-cf/resources/HTS_for_Accelerators_PAC.pdf

***

As I find the time there will most likely be many more posts to come on this subject. I haven't even mentioned Rosalind Franklin (except briefly here), pioneer microbiologist without whose work Crick and Watson would have been unable to model DNA structure. Or Marie Curie, not only an inspiring woman but the only scientist ever, male or female, to be awarded a Nobel Prize in both Chemistry and Physics and one of only four people ever to be awarded two Nobel Prizes. Or Dorothy Hodgkin, Mary Somerville, Barbara Cartland (yes, the author - also inventor), Florence Lawrence...So watch this space. And spaces like these:

http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/contents.html
http://www.nature.com/news/specials/women/index.html
http://www.engineergirl.org/
http://conferences.ted.com/TEDWomen2013/

In the meantime, whatever your gender, show encouragement to the women in your life who might be about to solve the next big engineering problem or make the next big scientific breakthrough. Share the news about these inspiring people and show people like Emily, here, that she's not on her own.

And if you are a woman - ever thought about a career in engineering?

5 Great Scientists and Engineers

(who happen to be women)

#5GreatSciEng

And here's to many more to come in 2014!

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)

As mentioned in a previous post, Ada is credited as the 'World's First Computer Programmer'. At just 18 years old Ada was invited by Charles Babbage to see the prototype for his Analytical Engine. Becoming fascinated with the machine it was she who was to write and explanation for how it was to work, a concept few other scientists of the time could understand. She also wrote the first 'program' for this or any other computing machine, a method for it to perform a series of calculations. Acknowledged as a true pioneer in the computing world, (a high level computing language, Ada,  has been named after her) it's time that her achievements were more widely appreciated.

Emily Warren Roebling (1843-1903)

The Brooklyn bridge is one of the largest engineering projects in North American history. Designed by her father-in-law and originally managed by her husband, Emily Roebling took up civil engineering studies in order to help with the project. It's lucky for North American engineering history (and the millions of people that use the bridge) that she did, for when her father-in-law died and her husband was struck with an illness that left him bed-ridden and partially paralised, it was Emily who took the role (though not the title) of Master Bridge Builder or Chief Engineer and saw the project through to completion.

Valentina Tereshkova (1937-present) and The Mercury 13 (1959)

In 1959 NASA 'auditioned' test pilots for the Mercury program - the first manned space flight mission. 'Manned' is right term here for only male pilots were invited to undergo the rigorous testing program. 500 applied, 110 were made it to the first round of tests and 7 were finally accepted for the program (2 of which were later grounded) - the Mercury 7. 

However, as one of the independent researchers who helped developed the tests noticed, women (on average) weight 15 % less than men and require less oxygen - significant advantages in the confines of space travel. What's more, there was no shortage of female test pilots in the USA at that time. And so 13 out of the 19 women selected underwent an passed the same tests as the Mercury 7. Originally called the FLATs (Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees) and later dubbed the Mercury 13, they were sadly ahead of their time (gender discrimination in the workplace would still be legal in the USA until the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and never made it into space. As said in the introduction, where would society be now without such pointless self-inflicted barriers to development? 

The names of these amazing women:

Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb 

Bernice "Bea" Steadman

Janey Hart 

Geraldine "Jerri" Sloan Truhill 

Rhea Allison Woltman 

Sarah Lee Gorelick Ratley 

Jan & Marion Dietrich 

Myrtle Cagle 

Irene Leverton 

Gene Nora Jessen 

Jean Hixson 

Wally Funk 

Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union...

Despite such ridiculous hurdles, women have never been completely eclipsed from scientific history. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut, became the first woman in space. More than that, she was a particularly gifted astronaut and soon clocked up more hours in space than all of her male peers - Russian and American - put together. And at the age of 76 she's still going strong, reported here to be the first to sign up for a one-way trip to Mars in the name of scientific discovery.

Find out more about Valentina, the FLATs and other great women of space exploration here.

The Mars Curiosity Rover Engineers and Scientists (2013)

40 years after the Mercury 13 were grounded and Valentina made here space flight debut, things are looking up. One of the most exciting and well-followed missions in NASA's, recent history, Curiosity has been fueling the imaginations of artists and scientists alike with its ground-breaking images and samples from the surface of the planet Mars. And, as posted here, it owes its launch into space to a number of fantastic female engineers and scientists. 

Lene Hau (1959-present)

Quantum computing is predicted to the be the way forward in modern technology and the next significant step after the internet. In the early noughties, Danish physicist Lene Hau led her team at Havard University in making several scientific breakthroughs that were as remarkable in their own right as they are important in pioneering this revolutionary field. As skilled in experimental work as in theoretical, with a stint at CERN on her CV and publications in many a prestigious journals including a cover article in the much coveted Nature, her scientific career is already pretty stunning. May 2014 and the future hold many new adventures for her! And perhaps a Nobel?

Introduction: 5 Great Scientists and Engineers

(who happen to be women)

#5GreatSciEng

The post that follows (and its sequel) is probably the one that is the closest to my heart and has been the longest time coming. Originally to be titled 'Quantum Leaps', it has developed and grown thanks to the Outreach work I've been lucky enough to take part in this year.

In case you're unfamiliar with the term, Outreach involves engaging schools, colleges and other local groups with your work or, in my case, research, in the hope that you will all go away having learnt something. In my field I'm lucky enough to get to play with cryogens and superconductors, and freezing things with liquid nitrogen is a very effective way to get people interested in science and engineering (by showing them that it's really cool *science pun*).

For my workshop in the 2013 edition of Dragonfly Day I started the session by looking at some of my female engineering heroes - some of whom have already been mentioned on this blog. After a conversation spawned from a faculty equality and diversity committee meeting, however, it became clear that encouraging girls and young women to reach their potential in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects was only one of the tasks that lay ahead on the road to closing the appalling gender gap that still exists in the UK in these areas. One of the biggest discouraging factors for many people hoping to enter STEM areas (men as well as women) is the subtle, residual culture of misogyny that can (though does not always) still haunt these subjects and occupations. Educating the boys from a young age in the great achievements of STEM women, therefore, is just as important.

And so I've started taking my WISE (Women into Science and Engineering) slides to all the schools I visit and prefacing all my talks with this message: 

At no point in history have there not been great female scientists and engineers to equal - and often better - the work of their male peers. We have always been there, often behind some of the biggest breakthroughs to shape our society. Unfortunately, not a lot of people know that.

Sometimes, the scientists or engineers in question have been modest and unassuming or their work has been overshadowed by similar advances in the same field; and so their names have passed into obscurity naturally, as is sometimes the case in all fields and for all people, male or female. Often, however, these incredible people have been direct victims of a prejudiced society: most have had to fight incredibly hard be able to do their work in the first place, as well as to have it even read - let alone accepted - by their contemporaries, and after all that, more often than not the credit has intentionally gone to a male colleague, sometimes one without a fraction of the their skill or knowledge.

This is a problem that is slow to change. A recent careers special in the New Scientist magazine shows that women are still likely to earn an average of £2k/year less than men in all STEM occupations other than 'Subjects allied to medicine' and 'Education'. (Page 8.)

It's time for this to stop. It is widely acknowledged ([1] [2] [3] for example) that the STEM gender gap is detrimental not only to women but to society as a whole. Imagine all the great inventions, technological developments, solutions to everyday problems that we are denying ourselves by discouraging 50 % of our potential scientists and engineers from ever entering their fields. How far would we have advanced already if we hadn't been suffering from this social disease for so long? (This of course also applies to the the equally important issues of economic and racial segregation that still shockingly exist in these areas too.)

But enough from me - the point of this blog is not to rant but to celebrate as many great achievements as possible, to publicise the previously unpublicised and give voice to some of the many unsung heroes of our society.

So let us now embrace the positive, rather than the negative, of women in the STEM world. Read on with the optimism that we are on the road to change [4] rather than the pessimism that this post may have accidentally engendered (no pun intended in this case).

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all of the people I'm about to mention, not only for your fantastic contributions to the world - without most of which I wouldn't be sitting here now, with a laptop, sharing this information wirelessly over the internet - but also for the message you personify:

No matter what anyone says, or what society suggests - you can change the world too.

[1] http://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/
[2] http://www.thenuclei.com/why-women-stem/
[3] http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/02/12/saving-our-science-anissa-ramirez/
[4] http://oro.open.ac.uk/29517/1/ukrc_statistics_guide_2010.pdf 

Guest Post - and a Tennis Tribute

Many thanks again to our guest blogger Ellie (of Apartment 4H) for another great insight into another world which she knows a lot more about than me!

A Sporting Chance

As we enter the new year and reflect on the main events of 2013, Andy Murray's Wimbledon success will be enjoyed and celebrated anew in which he became the 5th Brit to win the Wimbledon in 77 years - that's right, the 5th! So let's take a moment to remember his lesserknown predecessors:

Virginia Wade, British, Wimbledon Singles Champion 1977
Ann Haydon Jones, British, Wimbledon Singles Champion 1969
Angela Mortimer Barrett, British, Wimbledon Singles Champion 1961
Dorothy Round Little, British, Wimbledon Singles Champion 1934 and 1937

Wimbledon Champions

Hungry Women welcomes guest posts and contributions from everyone - all of which will of course be duly credited - so get in touch if you have any ideas!

A Sporting Chance - Guest Post

#ASportingChance

We were discussing our first footballing memories in the pub.  Gazza crying at the World Cup in 1990; missed penalties at Euro ’96.  For me it was France ’98: eighteen-year-old Michael Owen bursting onto the scene and scoring that fantastic goal against Argentina.  My sister had a crush on him; I wanted to be Michael Owen when I grew up.  At eleven, it didn’t occur to me that, as a girl, growing up to be a professional footballer worshipped by millions wasn’t an option.  I played with the boys in the school team, had a full West Ham kit and my own boots and posters from my Match magazines all over my claret and blue bedroom walls.

Me, circa 1996

Then puberty hit, and I wasn’t allowed to play with the boys anymore.  My school didn’t have a girl’s football team – it was hockey or nothing.  It was sort of ok for girls to support a football team, but wanting to play football was seriously weird.  I changed my mind about wanting to become a footballer, opting instead for the security of becoming a writer (or, as my failsafe backup, a musician).  But I still wanted to play football, as a hobby. At University, if you weren’t good enough to play for the Uni team, there were no opportunities for women.  Every year I signed up for the intra-mural football teams, only to be told that as I was the only name on the list, there wouldn’t be a team this time around.  Many of my male friends played in amateur leagues every weekend during the winter.

I haven’t played football for several years now.  My football sits unloved and deflated under the stairs.  For guys who want to play amateur football there are a wealth of local Sunday leagues, Saturday leagues, pub leagues, 5-a-side games – if you can scrape together enough friends who want to play, you’re in.  I don’t know of any similar leagues, but even if they exist, I know I don’t have any female friends who would want to play.

Despite some improvements, women’s professional sport still takes a backseat to men’s.  The prize money is less, the coverage minimal and the recognition barely existent.  Women in sport have to face comments about their appearance and their sexuality that men do not.  If this is the way professional sportswomen are treated, is it any wonder that the availability of grassroots and amateur sport for women is so limited?  Competitiveness and physicality are not seen to be feminine.  The women who have risen to the top of their sport need more recognition, to be treated on equal footing as men, to show those girls who are told they have to stop playing football, or rugby, or mountain biking, or underwater hockey with the boys, that they can keep on playing, just for fun.  Sport is hugely beneficial for us –for our physical and mental health and for meeting and bonding with new friends.

I had a bit of trouble deciding on the women to include in this blog.  There are so many – from ground-breakers to record-breakers, famous Olympians to lesser-known athletes.  In the end I turned to the BBC Sport website for inspiration, picking the top six sports on their homepage – sports from which even the most disinterested person could probably name a male sportsman – and featuring the top women in them.  Highlighting the achievements of the six women below is my small contribution to fighting the social stigma attached to women playing sport and may encourage more women to give traditionally male sports a go.

Stafanie Taylor

Cricket, West Indies

At 22-years-old, the West Indies’ all-rounder Stafanie Taylor has become the first player, male or female, to hold the batting, bowling and all-rounder number one spots in ODI cricket at the same time.  Taylor made her debut for the West Indies at just 17 on their tour of Europe in 2008.  Her impressive Twenty20 debut against Ireland saw her hit 90 off 49 balls.  She has been named the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year for the past two years and was also awarded the West Indies’ Women’s Cricketer of the Year.  An explosive right-hand batter with a right-arm off-break, in 67 ODIs for the West Indies, Taylor has made 2626 runs at an average of 45.27, scoring 5 centuries and 16 half-centuries in the process, and taken 91 wickets at an average of 16.30.  At only 22 and with some arguing that she would not be out of place in the men’s game, Taylor surely has many more years of success ahead of her.

Marta

Football, Brazil

Though it might not appear so in the British media, women’s football, or soccer, enjoys a lot of success abroad, particularly in the US and South America. 

Marta Vieira da Silva, commonly known as Marta, has achieved celebrity status in her home country of Brazil. 27-year-old Marta is a forward for Tyresö FF of Damallsvenskan and the Brazil women's national football team.  She was named FIFA World Player of the Year five consecutive times, from 2006-2010.  She won a silver medal with the Brazil team in the 2004 and 2008 summer Olympics and is joint top of the all-time Women’s World Cup goal scorer list.  Hailed as the Pele of the woman’s game, Marta is also a passionate advocate of female participation in football.

Emily Scarratt

Rugby Union, England

Emily Scarratt burst onto the International scene in 2008 with 12 tries in 12 games.  Scarratt first played rugby at the age of five, but could easily have gone on to represent England at hockey, rounders or even basketball (she was offered a US Basketball Scholarship when she was 16).  Wearing 13 or 15 on her back, Scarratt has scored 25 tries and 192 points for England, and at 23 is likely to score many more. She plays club rugby for Lichfield, represents England in Rugby Union and Sevens and was named the 2013 Women's Rugby Player of the Year.  Oh, and she is also a PE Assistant in her spare time.

Susie Wolff

Formula One, Britain

Motorsports are a notoriously testosterone-driven arena.  Scottish racing driver Susie Wolff has had to battle the ridiculous stereotype that women make terrible drivers, whether they’re in a Ford Fiesta or Formula One car to become a development driver for the Williams Formula One team in 2012.   Women have competed alongside men in Formula One, but not for forty years, and Susie is determined to become the first British woman to drive in a Formula One race.  The critics have been lining up to claim that women can’t compete at the pinnacle of the racing world, and Wolff has plenty of tales to tell of the sexism she faces.   But she hopes that she will be able to inspire girls to get into the sport: “People tell me that their daughters didn’t realise that girls could even race until they had heard of me.”

Serena Williams

Tennis, US

Despite its popularity being troublingly tied up with the marketability of the women who play it, women’s tennis fares a little better than many other sports, with equal prize money handed out at all four Grand Slam tournaments since 2007.  The Williams sisters can be credited with raising the profile of the women’s game and becoming household names in the process.  Whilst Venus Williams has not sustained her initial level of success, her younger sister has been consistently at the top of the game since she won her first US Open in 1999, at the age of 18.  Since then, Williams has notched up 16 more Grand Slam wins, across all surfaces, as well as an Olympic Gold.  Now 32, in 2013 Williams has regained the WTA’s Number One ranking for the sixth time in her career, indicating that there may well be more titles to come.

Inbee Park

Golf, South Korea

25-year-old South Korean Inbee Park has been the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings since 15 April 2013.  Having started playing golf at the age of 10, Park turned professional at 18,as soon as she was allowed under the LPGA rules. Park has won four major championships in her career, including three consecutive major wins during the 2013 season, becoming only the fourth LPGA Tour player to win three majors in a calendar year. She is also the youngest player to win the U.S. Women's Open.  Awarded the LPGA's Player of the Year, Park's successes in 2013 have brought a lot of publicity to women's golf.

More Great Musical Folk

#GuitarHeroes

Many thanks to Ellie for another guitar hero recommend, this time from the world of Folk Music.

In 1957, a 16-year-old Joan Baez bought herself a Gibson acoustic guitar. In 1958 she gave her first concert at the Club 47 in Cambridge, Massachusetts - the start of a 50-year residency - and 1959 saw her play at the first Newport Folk Festival.

'Folk' is an incredibly appropriate word when looking at Joan Baez. If anyone is a person 'of the people' then I think it's safe to say that Joan definitely earns that title. Musically she plays songs under the all-encompassing umbrella of 'Folk' which is best defined as music that tells stories about people; and as varied as people are, so are the songs of this genre - ballads and blues, lullabies and cowboy tunes, songs of freedom and songs of the people that fight for it. And they were not empty words that she sang (which she did in 6 languages, including English and Spanish, both of which she spoke fluently). Joan acted on every one of them, whether standing in fields alongside migrant farm workers striking for fair wages, withholding income tax from the IRS to protest against military spending or, as was seen in the recent anniversary documentary (here), performing at the legendary 1963 March on Washington, a pivotal point in the american Civil Rights Movement - the same year that she began touring with Bob Dylan. She opposed the death penalty and fought for LGBT rights, she took on a whole host of environmental issues as well as global poverty, she occupied Wall Street and Amnesty International created the Joan Baez Award for Outstanding Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. More information about her social and political activism can be found here.

So not only was she a fantastic musician (as can be seen from the taster links below and the respect she commanded of her peers) but she truly used the full potential of music as a social instrument: to carry a message across states and continents; to share a sentiment and inspire generations; to tell a story; to change the world...

'The Lily of the West'
'We Shall Overcome' (Woodstock, 1969)
Footage from the 1963 March including Joan Baez and Bob Dylan

Computers (n. one who calculates)

#Computers

In the dawn of the I.T. industry, before the first calculating machines or 'electronic brains' were used for commercial applications, rows of workers would write programs to carry out scientific calculations - and it would not be unusual for the majority of them to be women; and before the term 'programmers' was commonly used, they were known as 'computers' (those who computed things).

Women have been at the forefront of the computing industry since Ada Lovelace attended a talk by Charles Babbage on the Analytical Engine. She was the first person to see that it could be used for more than numerical calculations, going on to write the first algorithm for the machine and becoming what is now considered to be the world's first programmer.

As computers (the machines) developed, so did the role of computers (the people). Although most sciences remained male-dominated at the turn of the previous century, more and more women were pushing boundaries in mathematics which then opened the door to the more technological domain of computing. In this brand new field initially untarnished by a society still steeped in prejudice, women established themselves as pioneers and intellectuals without the otherwise unavoidable fight.

Unfortunately, in the 1960s, nearly 100 years after a woman laid the foundations for the industry, it began to turn against its female constituents. Men just entering the industry began to earn the same salary as the women who had pioneered it; the culture of the age denied women the opportunity to both work and have a family; the computing workplace became, like so many others, yet another preying ground for 'rampant sexism'. The number of women remaining in the industry was dwindling - and said industry was suffering for the loss of their experience and innovation.  Dame Stephanie Shirley, herself an early programmer and entrepreneur, not only founded one of the world's first software companies, Freelance Programmers, but also saw it as her public duty to retain these great minds in the field they had already given so much to; and so, until the otherwise highly beneficial and long-awaited Sex Discrimination Act of 1975, her company employed only women, the majority of whom were able to work from home - something many professionals today take for granted.

Not only was it one of the first software companies, Freelance Programmers was one of the most prestigious, winning contracts for highly complex and often top secret applications, from the Polaris nuclear weapons program and scheduling national transportation operations to the programming of the black box flight recorder for Concorde.

Dr. Ann Moffat, who wrote the Concorde programs, tells her story here in a great BBC Radio 4 documentary, presented by Martha Lane Fox (one of our Intrepid Entrepreneures). In less than half an hour you'll meet Ada, Dame Stephanie (also known as 'Steve'), Ann and other programmers including Mary Coombs, the first woman to program the world's first commercially available business computer: the Lyons LEO. Definitely an inspiring listen a great idea for a forthcoming post!

Guest Post

A big thank-you to our guest blogger Ellie for writing a superb post on women in politics.  So many great people to read about - and hopefully there'll be a sequel (like she says, there're too many people to whittle down to one list so hopefully there'll be some more!). In the meantime, her political history blog Apartment 4H is equally amazing so check it out!

Hungry Women welcomes guest posts and contributions from everyone - all of which will of course be duly credited - so get in touch if you have any ideas!

Deeds Not Words - Guest Post

#Deeds

In the grand scheme of things, women have come a long way in politics.  Less than a hundred years ago, women couldn't even vote in the UK.  Now a quarter of all MPs in the House of Commons are women.  But, hang on – shouldn't that be half?

Politics is unquestionably a male-dominated world.  From the top echelons down, women are woefully underrepresented.  When the Labour party introduced all-women shortlists to redress the balance, the number of female MPs doubled from 60 to 120 in the 1997 General Election.  However, despite these advancements, whenever a woman reaches a position in power, her performance is judged against her gender in a way that no man’s would ever be.  Take for instance Julia Gillard, who as Prime Minister of Australia had to endure the most vicious of sexism.  Her attack on the leader of the opposition was widely praised, but at the same time it highlights the hurdles that women have to leap in order to be taken seriously in politics.  Even grassroots political activism is somehow seen as unfeminine, not fitting with society’s view of the things a woman should be interested in.  (Women – Know Your Limits!).  Representation at all levels should be evenly spread across both genders and this is best achieved through the prominence of female politicians.  As Chelsea Clinton, who has joined her mother in campaigning for women’s rights, said: “it’s really hard to imagine yourself as something you don’t see.”

Here are a few women who have shattered the ultimate glass ceiling, and done a damn fine job of it too, providing inspiration for women across the world.

Emily Pankhurst

Perhaps one of the most famous women in history, Emmeline Pankhurst was born into a radical political family in 1858 and formed the Women’s Franchise League in 1889 with her husband Richard, a supporter of women’s rights.  However, frustrated by the lack of progress being made on women’s suffrage, Pankhurst formed the more militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903, whose members, commonly known as the suffragettes, shocked society and male politicians with their violence and hunger strikes.  Women over 30 were given the vote in 1918, and were finally granted equal voting rights in 1928, shortly before Pankhurst died.  Whilst there is some debate over the impact of Pankhurst’s individual contribution to the movement, specifically whether her militancy hindered or helped advance the cause of women’s suffrage in Britain, she has become synonymous with fighting for women’s rights and given inspiration to oppressed women around the world.  She has a statue in Victoria Park Gardens, was placed Number 27 on a list of most important Britons and was named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most important people of the twentieth century.  Read an interesting collection of articles and speeches on  and by Pankhurst here.

Benazir Bhutto

The first female leader of a Muslim country, Benazir Bhutto, known as B.B., was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996.  However, she is woman who left a controversial legacy.  Admired for her charisma and political savvy, she was also criticised for her deregulation of the financial sector, which many cite as the cause of Pakistan’s recession of the mid-nineties, and was plagued by corruption charges.  History may treat her more kindly than her record in office deserves, but there is no doubt that Bhutto raised the profile of women in a male-dominated society and paved the way for the acceptance of women in Pakistani politics.

Angela Merkel

Forbes currently ranks German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the second most powerful person in the world, second only to the President of the United States and the highest ever ranking for a woman.  Whether or not you agree with how she has achieved it, Merkel has to be given enormous credit for overseeing one of the world’s most stable economies during rocky financial times.  She also wields considerable influence within the European Union and the G8.  Trained as a chemist, Merkel entered politics following the reunification of Germany in 1989, became the first female leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in 2000 and was elected the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005, a position she has held ever since.  Germans will go to the polls in September to decide whether Merkel will remain as Chancellor, but her handling of the economy has boosted her popularity and polls suggest that the CDU will win, even if with a minority.  Merkel is a strong, steady head of state, avoiding the criticism often levelled at female leaders, and demonstrates that it is possible to lead a strong economy without your gender being added into the equation.

Hilary Clinton

As visible women go, they don’t get much more so than Hilary Clinton.  Overshadowed at times by her husband, since leaving the White House, Hilary Clinton has forged her own career in politics.  She served as Senator for New York from 2001-2009 (the state’s first female senator) and was a leading candidate for the US Presidency in 2008, winning more primaries and delegates than any other female candidate in history.  But for the competition of a charismatic African-American, America could have seen its first female president.  Instead, Clinton was appointed as Obama’s Secretary of State for his first term, one of the most prestigious positions in the US Government.  Until she stepped down in December 2012, she was the most widely-travelled secretary of state and has championed women’s rights around the world.  Although she has stated that she does not want to run for office again, she is currently the overwhelming favourite amongst Democrats for the 2016 nomination.  Clinton may just have managed to transcend gender in order to be viewed as a politician first and a woman second.

Whilst we need these high profile women to act as role models, there are many more less well-known women who have made hugely significant contributions to politics and to the advancement of women in the political sphere.  Below is just a small selection of these women.

Millicent Garrett Fawcett

Millicent Garrett Fawcett’s contribution to women’s suffrage in the UK is often overshadowed by the more visible actions of Emily Pankhurst and the suffragettes.  Fawcett was a suffragist, rather than a suffragette, who believed that women would gain the vote through constitutional change and that violence would only serve to fuel the stereotype of women as irrational and hysterical posited by men as evidence to deny them the vote.  Fawcett was the seventh of ten high-achieving Garett children (her older sister Elizabeth was the first female doctor).  Fawcett was passionate about furthering women’s opportunities throughout the whole of society, especially in higher education and in repealing the Contagious Diseases Act, which legislated for horrendous double standards.  A pacifist, Fawcett led a strong and well-reasoned campaign, and the inscription on her and her husband Henry’s memorial in Westminster Abbey credits her with winning “citizenship for women.”  (Listen to an interesting Radio 4 programme on Fawcett here.)

Mary Robinson

Educated at Trinity College, Dublin and Harvard Law School, Mary Robinson entered politics in 1979, and in 1990 became the first female President of the Republic of Ireland.  She was an immensely popular President and revitalised a position generally viewed as little more than a figurehead.  She gave a voice to groups who had traditionally been excluded from politics, such as LGBT organisations, made unprecedented visits to Britain and Northern Ireland and brought international focus to Somalia and Rwanda, being the first head of state to visit the latter state following the 1994 genocide.  She fought for women’s rights during her time in office, and has continued to do so since resigning as President in 1997.  After her resignation, Robinson was appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a post she held from 1997-2002, and now runs the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, a centre for education and advocacy of sustainable development in the world’s poorest countries.  She co-founded the Council of Women World Leaders, a network that mobilises women leaders at the highest levels to promote democracy and gender equality.

Gro Harlem Brundtland

Trained as a medical doctor, Gro Harlem Brundtland began her political career in Norway’s Ministry of Health, and served as the country’s Prime Minister on three separate occasions - in 1981, 1986-89 and 1990-96.  She is Norway’s first, and to date, only female prime minister.  Brundtland was enrolled as a member of Norway’s Labour Party by her father at the age of 7, and has remained a member ever since.  Brundtland has forged an important international career as well.  In 1983, she was asked by the UN Secretary-General to establish the World Commission on Environment and Development, now known as the Brundtland Commission.  After leaving office as Norway’s PM, she served as Director of the World Health Organisation (1998-2003), where she spearheaded the movement to abolish cigarette smoking.  She is currently UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy on Climate Change and, like Mary Robinson, is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders.

Alexandra Kollontai

Born in 1872 in St Petersburg, Alexandra Kollontai was fascinated by history and politics from a young age, and became interested in radical Marxism whilst studying at the University of Zurich.  In 1917, learning of the Tsar’s abdication, Kollontai returned to Russia to join the revolutionary movement.  The first female cabinet minister in the world, Kollontai became People’s Commissar for Social Welfare and, in the Marxist tradition, was an advocate of women’s equality and fought hard on the issues of female education and equal working rights.  She also promoted the concept of free love, believing that the traditional institution of marriage resulted in the exploitation of women and that the only way to achieve true equality was to eliminate bourgeois attitudes towards sexuality.  Dying in 1952, Kollontai remains an icon of gender equality to this day. 

There are many more inspirational women who have successfully conquered stereotypes and made invaluable contributions to politics.  It was a challenge to whittle it down to the few I’ve chosen, and the list goes on and on but it should be much longer.  More strong women like those above are needed as role models in politics, across the whole political spectrum, so that women’s performances as leaders are judged on the same terms as men’s.

Quick! Before it goes!

Was a little bit late in posting this but Sarah Howells, Australian DJ and host of the brilliant Roots'n'all show on triple j radio, did an entire show dedicated to great female artists last week. She normally has a great mix of music and a good male-female balance so is always worth checking out (am planning a 'Going Wireless' post soon which will include her, of course!) but in the meantime try and listen to the 'Ladies' Night' show from 1st August 2013 - not sure how long it'll be available for! (If you miss it, check out the playlist when it comes up and look everyone up.)

'Curiouser and curioser!' said Alice

Although none of these people are called Alice. But they are all amazing engineers and scientists working on the Mars Curiosity Rover Mission and have been answering questions about it here, as it has just been shared with me. Thanks, Tom, for the link and thanks, everyone below for the science!

Joy Crisp, MSL Deputy Project Scientist

Megan Richardson, Mechanisms Downlink Engineer

Louise Jandura, Sampling System Chief Engineer

Tracy Neilson, MER and MSL Fault Protection Designer

Jennifer Trosper, MSL Deputy Project Manager

Elizabeth Dewell, Tactical Mission Manager

Erisa Hines, Mobility Testing Lead

Cassie Bowman, Mars Public Engagement

Carolina Martinez, Mars Public Engagement

Sarah Marcotte, Mars Public Engagement

Courtney O'Connor, Curiosity Social Media Team

Veronica McGregor, Curiosity Social Media Team

Intrepid Entrepreneures - Fighting for Freedom

#IntrepidEntrepreneures

Who would have thought that a seemingly pointless, mandatory Management module in the 3rd year of an engineering degree would have introduced me to some really quite inspiring figures? Especially since I'd never previously found the world of business (can't help but think of this when I write 'The World of Business' - about 50 seconds in) particularly inspiring! However, the following people stand out not only for their impressive entrepreneurship but also for using their skills to support causes (from environmental issues to fighting poverty) whilst having to fight against various social prejudices themselves.

In particular Anita Roddick, Madam C. J. Walker and Mary Katherine Goddard stand out and, while it was tempting to give them posts in their own right, instead I've tried to summarise some key points of their lives and achievements with links to where to find out more.

Anita Roddick (1942-2007)

Health & beauty products, human & animal rights activism (‘The Body Shop’, ‘The Big Issue’)

Anita Roddick became both a cultural and entrepreneurial role model after showing immense commitment not only to her business but also the human- and animal-rights campaigns and ideals that it came to support and stand for. In the face of bigoted bank managers, leaky roofs, a society fast becoming materialistic and compassion-less to the extreme, and a growing family to support, she built from scratch the first high street store with a conscience. [1] [2] 

‘The Body Shop’, now a successful franchise, sold products based on the knowledge she had gained from her travels all over the world, mainly to small, isolated fishing communities, and combined these with her passion for environmental, animal-rights-based and humanitarian causes. Respected globally for her unceasing hard work and commitment, her motivation in the face of adversity and her intrinsic enthusiasm, she will be remembered not only as one of Britain’s most successful businesspeople but as one of the few, talented people who managed to use the corporate system to truly make a difference. [3][4] 

Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919)

Promoting financial independence for early-20th century american women, health & beauty product invention & development, civil rights activism (‘Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Laboratories’, ‘Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company’)

For some people fighting against both racial segregation and sexism in order to establish a successful career for yourself would be enough of a challenge (and already deserves substantial recognition). However, for Madam Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) this was not enough. After inventing and establishing her own hair care product range and travelling across the USA to promote it, she then used it as a springboard for encouraging other women to do the same. She taught other women from similarly poverty-stricken backgrounds to her own business and sales skills, as well as setting up and running a beauty training school from 1908-1910. [5]

Whilst travelling she gave speeches on political, economic and social issues. She was a key member of several influential civil rights movements organisations (NAACP, NACWC) and an important figure in their anti-lynching campaigns. More than that, she was clearly more forward thinking than many people of influence even today, investing heavily in educational scholarships and homes for the elderly as well. [6] [7]

Generally attributed as the USA's first female self-made millionaire, she was and remains a great inspiration to men and women of all races and nationalities. It is only unfortunate (and a little depressing) that 100 years after she began fighting for such causes, there is still so much work to do.

Mary Katherine Goddard (1736-1816)

Printing industries and postal service, independence activism, freedom of press (‘Providence Gazette’,‘West's Almanack’, ‘Pennsylvania Chronicle’, ‘Maryland Journal’, ‘Baltimore Advertiser’)

After more or less running the family printing and publishing business which was officially in her brother's name for 13 years, Mary Goddard was formally recognised as both editor and publisher in 1775, the same year she became Postmaster for Baltimore, probably being the first woman in America to take on such a role.

This was also the year that the American Revolutionary War began in which the 13 colonies of British America began fighting for independence from the British Empire. A year later, representatives of these colonies had drawn up a Declaration of Independence, stating that they considered themselves independent of Great Britain and that they intended to form a new nation. An estimated 200 copies of the document were first published as the Dunlap Broadside - printed in somewhat of a rush on the night of the 4th of July 1776. By early 1777 it was decided that the document should be more widely distributed and, despite it being a treasonable offence to print the document, they needed a publisher to volunteer. Mary Goddard took her roles in the publication and distribution of the printed word seriously and considered them a responsibility to the american people. She was the first publisher to offer the use of her press to the Continental Congress and so in January 1777 a second copy of the Declaration of Independence was published as the Goddard Broadside. It was this copy that was the first to include the names of all the signatories - and so from this copy that the american public first learned these names - and it was this copy that was the first to contain the famous signature of John Hancock which was missing from the Dunlap Broadside.

However, she was soon let down by the nation she had unquestioningly put her life in danger for and played such a key role in building. In 1789 the Postmaster General decided to replace her with John White, stating that given that Baltimore was to become the new regional headquarters, being a woman, she would no longer be able to manage the frequent, long-distance travels this job would now entail - and not stating that White was in fact his political ally, which may have had something more to do with it. Despite 230 residents signing a petition to the newly elected president George Washington and an appeal to the U.S. Senate, White took her job.

Though some would have lost faith in the new system they had fought to build, Goddard stayed true to her beliefs. In 1812 she pulled her many resources to free a woman named Belinda from slavery to whom she bequeathed all her possessions and property.

[8] [9] [10] [11]

Martha Lane Fox (b. 1973)

Management (‘Lastminute.com’, ‘Lucky Voice’, ‘Antigone’, ‘Reprieve’, ‘Marks & Spencer’, ‘Channel 4’, ‘MyDeco.com’); Also ‘Champion for Digital Inclusion’

After co-founding ‘Lastminute.com’, Europe’s largest travel and leisure website [12] which was valued at £667 million in 2003, Martha took the £18 million she received when it was sold to Sabre Holdings as self-earned capital to invest in her new ventures. [13] 

As well as becoming a trustee of registered charity ‘Reprieve’ and setting up her own grant-making trust ‘Antigone’, she has started the growing company ‘Lucky Voice’ which provides private karaoke rooms in an increasing number of bars and restaurants around the country. [14] 

As government-appointed Champion for Digital Inclusion, she led the team charged with the task of ensuring that everyone in the UK could afford access to the internet. [15]

Sharon Wright

Engineering Tools - Cabling Installation Tools (‘Talpa Products Ltd.’, manufacturer of ‘Magnamole’)

From a moment of inspiration to a successful enterprise which claims to save the engineering industry £6.5 million in down time, Sharon Wright is a shining example of an entrepreneur in the truest form. Working 16-20 hours a day, seven days a week, whilst single-handedly bringing up her 12-year-old daughter, she demonstrates both commitment and courage, but it is her communication skills that single her out from the rest. [16]

The testimonials displayed proudly on the website and the support she received from Schneider Electric distributors show not only the strength of her customer and other professional relationships but also how much she values them. [17] 

What’s more, after an appearance on BBC’s ‘The Dragon’s Den’ where she was famed for giving the “perfect pitch” [18] she left with a better deal than she had entered for and her presentation and communication skills have been heralded as an example to others. [19]