Women's History, Feminism, & Rights: Women in STEM

When in the 1950s Evelyn Fox Keller ventured forth to become a scientist, she discovered it was a man’s world. Training as a theoretical physicist and working in both mathematical biology and the history of science, she wondered why most scientists were men and why the language of science reflected masculine metaphors and values. Keller has grappled with the meaning and consequences of these stereotypes ever since. In this program with Bill Moyers, Keller discusses how gender plays a significant role in the language that scientists use to describe their work.

This series tells the story of the women behind the exploration of Mars and the women who continue pursue scientific discovery. Subjects include Mars exploration, Mars colonization, the ionosphere, solar weather and near Earth Asteroids.

The founder of the American branch of the Red Cross was Clara Barton, a nurse who was sometimes called the “angel of the battlefield.”...

In her lifetime, Gabrielle-Émilie Châtelet attracted attention in France for her romantic relationships with various intellectuals, particularly Voltaire. Today she is remembered as a mathematician and physicist who championed Sir Isaac Newton's scientific theories.

Hedy Lamarr was a glamorous Austrian film star who was often typecast as a provocative femme fatale. Years after her screen career ended, she achieved recognition as a noted inventor of a radio communications device.

Trained as a physician and engineer, Mae Jemison was the first African American woman to become an astronaut. In 1992 she spent eight days orbiting Earth as a science mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.

Margaret Chan is a Hong Kong–born Chinese civil servant who became director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2007.

Maria Gaetana Agnesi was an Italian mathematician and philosopher, considered to be the first woman in the Western world to have achieved a reputation in mathematics.

Agnesi was the eldest child of a wealthy silk merchant who provided her with the best tutors available. She was an extremely precocious child who mastered Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and several modern languages at an early age, and her father liked to host gatherings where she could display her knowledge. Propositiones philosophicae (“Propositions of Philosophy”), a series of essays on natural philosophy and history based on her discussions before such gatherings, was published in 1738.

Polish-born French physicist Marie Curie was famous for her work on radioactivity and twice a winner of the Nobel Prize. With Henri Becquerel and her husband, Pierre Curie, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics. She was the sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and she is the only woman to win the award in two different fields...

In 1983 the astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel into space. Only two other women preceded her into space: Valentina Tereshkova (in 1963) and Svetlana Savitskaya (in 1982), both from the former Soviet Union.

U.S. scientist and industrial designer Temple Grandin created systems to counter stress in certain human and animal populations. Her professional work grew from her own experience with autism.

Kenyan politician and environmental activist Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her “holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights, and women's rights in particular.” She became the first black African woman to achieve such an honor.