Celebrating ֲý’s Women in Science

2021 E. E. Just fellow Indu Sharma, Hampton University, assists Hampton undergraduate Pa-Shun Hawkins in the lab. Credit: Dee Sullivan

Every February 11, the United Nations celebrates the . Take a moment to celebrate the women in science at the ֲý. 

ֲý has always been a unique institution—it’s part of the “ֲý magic” that many scientists and students talk about every year. Its founding was no exception. When the ֲý was founded in 1888, it was unusual for its time in that it encouraged women students of science to apply on an equal footing with their male peers.

In the more than a century since, the ֲý has had some ups and downs regarding women in science—the years between 1910 and 1970 saw a lull in female admissions—but has made great strides in the last 60 years in making the institution a place where everyone can study and thrive, regardless of gender.

In a world where fewer than 30% of science jobs are filled by women, we’re proud that 53% of ֲý employees (and 54% of our resident scientists) are women.

Of the 219 graduate and post-graduate students who attended one of ֲý’s 2021 Advanced Research Training Courses, 119 (54%) were women.

ֲý Cephalopod Intern Akin Grearson works in the Cephalopod Mariculture Facility.
ֲý Cephalopod Intern Akin Grearson works in the Cephalopod Mariculture Facility.
Loretta Roberson performs experiments under water.
Loretta Roberson performs experiments under water. Courtesy: Loretta Roberson
University of Chicago students take measurements in Great Sippewissett marsh. Credit: Daniel Cojanu
University of Chicago students take measurements in Great Sippewissett marsh. Credit: Daniel Cojanu
ֲý Semester in Environmental Science student Lauren Johnson.
ֲý Semester in Environmental Science student Lauren Johnson.
Mirta Teichberg in her seagrass lab. Seagrass meadows, like coral reefs, provide a critical habitat for a great diversity of marine life, including fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Credit: Tom Vierus, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
Mirta Teichberg in her seagrass lab. Seagrass meadows, like coral reefs, provide a critical habitat for a great diversity of marine life, including fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Credit: Tom Vierus, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
2021 Grass Fellow Carola Staedele studies the sensory system of ticks. Credit: Melissa Coleman
2021 Grass Fellow Carola Staedele studies the sensory system of ticks. Credit: Melissa Coleman
ֲý Veterinarian Lisa Abbo takes a scale sample from a striped bass. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
ֲý Veterinarian Lisa Abbo takes a scale sample from a striped bass. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
Research Assistant Emily Lucas in the ֲý's Cephalopod Mariculture Lab. Credit: Megan Costello
Research Assistant Emily Lucas in the ֲý's Cephalopod Mariculture Lab. Credit: Megan Costello
Hannah Knighton in our Cephalopod Mariculture Room. Credit: Megan Costello
Hannah Knighton in our Cephalopod Mariculture Room. Credit: Megan Costello
Rut Pedrosa Pàmies near a sediment trap during a redeployment of the Oceanic Flux Program mooring onboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer. Credit: JC Weber
Rut Pedrosa Pàmies near a sediment trap during a redeployment of the Oceanic Flux Program mooring onboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer. Credit: JC Weber

Woman-led ֲý News Highlights: 2021 Edition

Sea Anenome’s Survival is Threatened by Current Levels of Wetland Pollution

In Need of New Reproductive Cells? This Marine Worm Shows a Way

Legends of Squid Research at the ֲý: Chasing Down Why Neurons Live or Die

Dr. Karen Echeverri: Regenerate Arms? Spinal Cords? | Critically Speaking Podcast

Marine Biological Laboratory Names Anne W. Sylvester Director of Research

Cuttlefish Retain Sharp Memory of Specific Events in Old Age, Unlike Humans, Study Finds

Too Small to Eat? Indu Sharma, E.E. Just Fellow, Asks if Shape Helps a Microbe Survive

Las Ventajas de la Acuicultura / The Advantages of Aquaculture | Univision 34 Los Angeles

“Take Five” with ֲý Trustee Patrice Yarbough: From the ֲý to NASA and Beyond

What’s so Bad About … Nitrogen? | Bluedot Living

The Haunting Nature of Plastics | Hakai Magazine

This Creature Survived 24,000 Years in Siberian Permafrost | The New York Times

ֲý Begins First Test of Tropical Seaweed Farming for Biofuels Production

Fast-Learning Cuttlefish Pass the Snacking Test

Coastal ‘Dead Zones’ Are Multiplying. Seaweed Farms May Be the Solution | Bloomberg

 

Women in an ֲý Lab, 1928. Women in an ֲý Lab, 1928. Credit: ֲý History Project

ֲý’s Women-Heavy History

During its long history, the ֲý has been a source of inspiration for generations of women in science—from Cornelia Clapp, who helped found the institution, and Rachel Carson, the mother of the modern environmental movement, to the thousands of female students who have studied in Woods Hole during the last 132 years.

Learn more about some of the ֲý’s female leaders at the Legacy of Leadership exhibit.


Science and scientific discovery belong to everyone, no matter their gender, sexual identity, or color of their skin. At the ֲý, we are working hard to create an inclusive environment for scientists, students, visitors, and fellows alike.

 

Want to support women in science? Support the ֲý.