The photo was taken at the Solvay Conference on Physics in 1927 and the woman in the bottom row, and indeed the only woman, is, as I am sure you've guessed, Marie Curie. You've heard her name and probably know something about her achievements as a scientist.
Watch the video and try to write down as many relevant facts about her life and career as you can.
To what extent have things changed since 1927, when the photo was taken? Not as much as you would expect, according to a study published by Yale University. According to this study, of all the physics professors in the United States, only 14% are women and only one fifth of Ph.D.'s are awarded to women.
Lucía, a student doing research at a university in Denmark, tells us:
"Personally, I am surrounded by men in the research area, we are only two girls out of twelve in the group and the same proportion can be expanded to the whole department. In the beginning it was funny to see the guys' faces when I could solve a problem that we were facing, but I cannot tell if it was because I was a woman or because I was a foreigner (or both?).
Women getting into science is like men getting into the baby stuff: sometimes it might be hard for women to accept advice from a man on how to take care of children just as it might be for men to accept advice from women on how that sensor has to be built. But we are in the good track, I would say." (Lucía Alcalá, former Galileo Galilei student)
What is keeping women out of STEM fields? (STEM stands for "science, technology, engineering and mathematics")
Tuesday 16 October marks Ada Lovelace day, an annual event "designed to raise the profile of female scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians."
But who was Ada Lovelace and what do you know about her? Look her up and write a few lines about her achievements.
Feel free to leave your comments.
