Women in geology

Women in geology concerns the history and contributions of women to the field of geology. There has been a long history of women in the field, but they have tended to be under-represented. In the era before the eighteenth century, science and geological science had not been as formalized as they would become later. Hence early geologists tended to be informal observers and collectors, whether they were male or female. Notable examples of this period include Hildegard of Bingen who wrote works concerning stones and Barbara Uthmann who supervised her husband's mining operations after his death. Mrs. Uthmann was also a relative of Georg Agricola. In addition to these names varied aristocratic women had scientific collections of rocks or minerals.

In the nineteenth century a new professional class of geologists emerged that included women. In this period the British tended to have far more women of significance to geology.

In 1977 the Association for Women Geoscientists was formed to support women in this field as they remained under-represented. There have been advances since then although retention remains a problem.

Notable women geologists

• Claudia Alexander - Notable member of the Association for Women Geoscientists
• Florence Bascom - First woman hired by the United States Geological Survey.
• Helen Belyea Canadian geologist.
• Etheldred Benett - Early female geologist in Britain.
• Elizabeth Catherine Thomas Carne- Early female geologist in Britain.
• Margaret Crosfield - Early English paleontologist and geologist.
• Jane Francis - Director of the British Antarctic Survey
• Robbie Gries - Former president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
• Dorothy Hill - Only female president of the Australian Academy of Science.
• Miriam Kastner - Distinguished Professor of Earth Sciences at University of California, San Diego, 2008 Maurice Ewing Medal
• Inge Lehmann - Danish seismologist who discovered the Earth's inner core
• Margaret Leinen - American paleoclimatologist, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Lorraine Lisiecki - American palaeoclimatologist
• Mary Horner Lyell - Nineteenth-century British geologist
• Marcia McNutt - American geophysicist, former director of the United States Geological Survey, science adviser to the United States Secretary of the Interior and president and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
• Marie Morisawa - American geomorphologist.
• Sharon Mosher - Former President, Geological Society of America.
• Alexandra Navrotsky - 1973 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, 1988 American Geophysical Union Fellow, 1997 Geological Society of America Fellow, 2006 Harry H. Hess Medal.
• Maureen Raymo - Director of the Lamont-Doherty Core Repository at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
• Sudipta Sengupta is a professor in structural geology in Jadavpur University, Calcutta
• Ethel Shakespear - English geologist.
• Marjorie Sweeting - lecturer at Oxford University and the first western geomorphologist to publish a study on karst areas of China.
• Marie Tharp - A discoverer of the Mid-ocean ridge.
• Susan E. Trumbore - Member, US National Academy of Sciences, Director, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
• Janet Vida Watson - Lyell Medal, Bigsby Medal, and a past President of the Geological Society of London.
• Dawn Wright - African-American marine geologist, fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, ALVIN diver.
• Maria Zuber - E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2012 Harry H. Hess Medal.

See also

• Women in science
• Women in the workforce

References

• Burek, C. V.; Higgs, B., eds. (2007). The role of women in the history of geology. London: Geological Society. ISBN 9781862392274.

External links

• Association of Women Geoscientists