In the shadow of men: These 10 things women invented

In the shadow of men
These 11 inventions are made by women

History would have us believe that men were the geniuses who made important inventions. Although women used to have poorer access to education, these women are proving the opposite.

History books are sexist – men’s achievements have been, and still are, lauded, while women’s inventions are deliberately kept in the background. It was not uncommon for a man to receive sole recognition for a woman’s scientific work. Discrimination and denial of female achievements in research will be “Matilda Effect“. This term was coined by women’s rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage, who was the first to describe the phenomenon.

It was tough and still is

It’s no secret that the proportion of women in science subjects was negligible at the time. The reason is patriarchal societal principles that have manifested themselves as structural sexism. It starts with the lack of access to education: the focus on home economics and the ban on studying did not make it easy for women in science. It was tough and it still is.

That’s why we want to celebrate the heroines of history – for these great inventions:

How to prevent the “Matilda Effect”?

One could assume that a lot has changed in the last 100 years. But this does not apply to the gender distribution of the Nobel Prize: only five percent of the science prizes in medicine, physics and chemistry go to women. Do women really invent less? We will only find out the answer in 50 years, when the archives release the files. The first step to improve the current inequality of opportunity would be to provide a more transparent insight into the selection processes of the award committees. Because only the archives of the Nobel Foundation provide information about the decision-making processes. Only then can one understand whether the “Matilda Effect” struck again and women are only honored for their achievements afterwards.

Sources used: nationalgeographic.de, spiegel.de, sueddeutsche.de, companisto.com

Bridget