Women in the STEM Fields Essay -- Career Women Essays

In early American history, society believed that women did not have a place in rearing and high-level learning. They were told not to b different their brains with such advanced thinking. Middle and upper class women learned to read and write, but their education ended there. A womans place was said to be in the home, cooking, sewing, and taking care of the children. In the case of upper class women, their ruction list was cut even shorter with the servants present to do the work. However, women desired a higher education. Elizabeth Blackwell is a prime example of womens fight for a medical examination degree, one of the start STEM environments avail qualified to women. In order to kick-start her education she wrote to all of the doctors that she knew, requesting advice and help. However, most of the doctors replied that they thought it impossible, that a woman would not be able to endure the rigors of a medical education, and that they feared the competition that women doctors w ould bring. Elizabeth persisted, finally making her way to Philadelphia, a city famous for its study in medicine, to stay with Dr. Elder, one of the some supporters of her education. Once here she continued writing letters and actually found many friends who agreed to support her cause, but unfortunately universities were not included in this list of friends. Elizabeth then pursued an education at the University of Geneva in New York where the Medical Faculty and students agreed to accept her. While at first the university cared about the press coverage that Elizabeths spot would bring, she eventually established her rightful place as a student there. Although she encountered some resentment among the wives of doctors and other people living in the small town, Elizabeth ... ...cLeer, Anne. Practical Perfection? The Nanny Negotiates Gender, Class, and Family Contradictions in 1960s Popular Culture. NWSA Journal 14.2 (2002) 80-83. JSTOR. Web. 09 Feb. 2014. Pollack, Eileen. Why Are T here be quiet So Few Women in Science? The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Rosch, Amelia. WISP Increases Female Participation in the Sciences. The Dartmouth. The Dartmouth, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Rupp, Leila J. Eleanor Flexners Century of Struggle Womens History and the Womens Movement. NWSA Journal 4.2 (1992) 157-69. JSTOR. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.Scientists Not Immune from Gender Bias, Yale Study Shows. Yale News. Yale University, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Smith, Michelle R. Giving Female Scientists Their Due. Philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.