Celebrating Women in Science at MBLand Beyond

By Emily Greenhalgh February 11, 2020

MBLhas always been a unique institution—it’s part of the “MBLmagic” that many scientists and students talk about every year. Its founding was no exception. When the MBLwas 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 MBLhas 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 MBLemployees (and 48% of our resident scientists) are women.

��Ůֱ��'s Women at Work

women in the field — University of Chicago students take measurements in Great Sippewissett marsh. Credit: Daniel Cojanu

woman at symposium — The 2019 MBLPhysiology Symposium. Credit: Megan Costello

woman in the lab — Research Assistant Emily Lucas in the ��Ůֱ��’s Cephalopod Mariculture Lab. Credit: Megan Costello

Loretta Roberson diving — MBLAssociate Scientist Loretta Roberson setting up scientific equipment while snorkeling.

Marko Horb teaching female students — ��Ůֱ��’s Senior Scientist and Director of the National Xenopus Center (NXR), Marko Horb, teaches St. Anne’s-Belfield School students Isabel Franks and Hannah Trebour how to use a microinjection rig.

Other Notable Stats

Of the 524 graduate and post-graduate students who studied at MBLin 2019, 57% were women.
68% of last year’s undergraduate and high school interns were women.
In 2019, 81% of the enrollees of ��Ůֱ��’s new High School Science and Discovery Program were young women.

Woman-led Science in the News: 2019 Edition

More MBLin the News

��Ůֱ��’s Women-Heavy History

During its long history, the MBLhas 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.

Women in an MBLLab, 1928. Credit: MBLHistory Project

From 1888 to 1910, women came to the MBLas students and investigators—many of these women were teachers in secondary schools. MBLone-third of the classes in advanced scientific studies were composed of women who came from across the United States to study in Woods Hole. In the Botany and Embryology courses, more than half of the students were women.

Science and scientific discovery belong to everyone, women and men, and at the ��Ůֱ��, we are working hard to create��an inclusive environment��for scientists, students, visitors, and fellows alike.

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