WomeninMathematicsBECKYSANFT

DEPARTMENTOFMATHEMATICS

UNC ASHEVILLE

TIMELINE 1827 1833 1843Sophie Germain Ada Lovelace

Florence Nightingale Sofia Kovalevskaya Winifred Edgerton Merrill Emily Noether Anna Pell Wheeler Euphemia Lofton Haynes

1961 1964 1971 1975 1995 2014Katherine Johnson Mary Cartwright Julia Robinson Cathleen Morawetz Maryam Mirzakham

1856 1874 1886 1918 1927 1943

History of Women in Mathematics

SophieGermain

AdaLovelace

FlorenceNightingale

SofiaKovelvskaya

Groundbreaking results in partial differential equations

and mechanics

WinifredEdgertonMerrill

EmmyNoether

“…Noether was the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of woman began.”

~ Einstein

AnnaPellWheeler

EuphemiaLoftonHaynes

KatherineJohnson

MaryCartwright

AssociationofWomeninMathematics(AWM)Encourageswomenandgirlstostudyandtohaveactivecareersinthemathematicalsciences,andtopromoteequalopportunityandequaltreatmentofwomenandgirlsinthemathematicalscience.

JuliaRobinson

CathleenMorawetz

MaryamMirzakhani

2018

MathCampsforGirls

InspiringSTEMBooksforGirls

Toys

Clothing

ProgramsforUndergraduateandGraduateStudents

Bachelor’sDegreetoTenuredFaculty

TopazandSen(2016)

UnderrepresentationofWomen…Why?Evidencestronglysuggeststhatmalesandfemaleshavesimilarinherentcapacityinthesefields(Spelk (2005),HydeandLinn(2006))

Withinnatebiologicaldifferencesinabilityexcluded,whatotherfactorscontribute?

Beliefthatinnate“brilliance”isneededtosucceedRepresentationofwomenispoorerinfieldswhosepractitionersbelieveintheimportanceofinnate“talent”or“brilliance”tosuccessinthatfield

Cimpian,etal.(2015)

GenderBias• Sciencefacultyfromresearch-intensiveuniversitiesratedtheapplicationmaterialsofastudent—whowasrandomlyassignedeitheramaleorfemalename—foralaboratorymanagerposition.

• Thegenderofthefacultyparticipantsdidnotaffectresponses,suchthatfemaleandmalefacultywereequallylikelytoexhibitbiasagainstthefemalestudent.

Moss-Racusin,etal.(2012)

UnderrepresentationofWomen…Why?

Percentageoffemalewinnersbyawardtypeandfield

Lincoln,etal.(2012)

UnderrepresentationofWomen…Why?62journalshavelessthan0.5%womenontheeditorialboard.Infact,51journalshavenowomen,accountingfor11.8%ofthe435journalsinthedataset.

Medianjournal’seditorialboardis7.6%women

TopazandSen(2016)

WhatWeCanDo(AAUW)CultivatingGirls’AchievementandInterestinScienceandEngineering• Spreadthewordaboutgirls’andwomen’sachievementsinmathscience• Teachgirlsthatintellectualskills,includingspatialskills,areacquired.• Teachstudentsaboutstereotypethreatandpromoteagrowth-mindsetenvironment• Encouragechildrentodeveloptheirspatialskills• Helpgirlsrecognizetheircareer-relevantskills

Othergoodadvice:HowtoTalktoLittleGirls(2011)

WhatWeCanDo(AAUW)CreatingCollegeEnvironmentsthatSupportWomeninScienceandEngineering• ActivelyrecruitwomenintoSTEMmajors• Sendaninclusivemessageaboutwhomakesagoodscienceorengineeringstudent• Emphasizereal-lifeapplicationsinearlySTEMcourses• Teachprofessorsaboutstereotypethreatandthebenefitsofagrowthmindset

WhatWeCanDo(AAUW)ToAttractandRetainFemaleFaculty• Conductdepartmentalreviewstoassesstheclimateforfemalefaculty• Ensurementoringforallfaculty• Supportfacultywork-lifebalance

Thankyou!