A History of Women Scientists in the U.S., 1972-2000

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary The PI plans to write a one-volume history of women scientists in the United States from 1972 to 2000. This is a challenging project both because this was a complex period when an organized women's movement in science emerged and when a great deal of unprecedented things happened on many fronts, including especially science education, employment, and recognition. Few historians of science have as yet worked this period. Yet for many people, especially students, the 1970s and 1980s are already ancient history, and what happened then is minimized and misunderstood. The PI has already used 39 archival collections, which contain vast quantities of correspondence, clippings, notes, and reports, of individuals and associations. The PI plans to write a draft of the book during her current sabbatical year, while also utilizing additional archival sources that have become available. Intellectual Merits The project will yield important new insights into our understanding of the recent history of women scientists in the United States. While there have been a number of studies of women scientists in those years, there has been no sustained, scholarly historical examination of the topic. While there are numerous histories of the civil rights and women's rights movements, this will be the first major study to examine how those and other developments influenced efforts to promote greater opportunities for women scientists. The PI's work will yield new perspectives on the role of minority women in science, as well as the problems that women scientists in general confronted in universities, federal government employment, and industry. In light of the efforts made to expand opportunities for women scientists in those years, the project will make a major contribution to understanding the changing dynamic of science in late twentieth- century America. Broader Impacts Besides adding to the history of science, this project is very likely to increase interest in the participation of women and minority groups in science and engineering, as indeed the PI's earlier volumes on the years prior to 1972 already have. Documenting and writing about the efforts and experiences of the women who went before has a way of encouraging and expanding horizons for current students. Once such material is readily available it can be taken up by magazine writers, program developers, textbook writers, policy makers, school counselors and others positioned to influence young people and their parents. Indeed a broad project like this, which will provide specifics as to what has happened since 1972, is an essential starting place to such future efforts