Matilda or The Invisible woman

In the 1960s, the American sociologist Robert Merton observed that certain figures are recognized at the expense of their collaborators, who are often the source of this recognition. In 1993, Margaret W. Rossiter observed that this phenomenon is tenfold when it comes to women scientists. She called this theory the Matilda effect, in reference to the 19th-century American feminist activist Matilda J. Gage. She was astonished by men’s tendency to attribute to themselves the intellectual thoughts of women and minimize their contribution to scientific research. But science and technology are not the only fields in which women have long been under-represented: throughout the history of civilizations, female migrations have not been analyzed with as much attention and detail as male migrations. Don't you think it's high time to remedy this oversight?

The under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics has been the subject of widespread debate since the mid-1980s. Generally speaking, women were excluded from the workforce until the end of the 20th century. This exclusion is even more marked in technical and scientific jobs. They are now begining to be more visible in the field of scientific research. As you will discover throughout the Women Leaders in Sciences course, offered by Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL), the diversification of the scientific field is a multi-dimensional and complex task. Women face all kinds of obstacles from active discrimination to the more complex mechanism of "imposter syndrome" and self-censorship, as well as different career choices, invisibilization in favor of their male counterparts, and so on. This course will address the main aspects of gender discrimination when it comes to scientific careers and present different testimonies of women that have come to occupy leading roles in sciences. We will discuss and analyze the various obstacles they have encountered, categorize them and examine what actions - from general public policies to individual actions - can be implemented to help women achieve their professional goals in science. Sign up for this course to learn how to take action for greater gender diversity in scientific careers.
Course starts: November 28, 2023

While female migration is not a new phenomenon, it has long gone unnoticed in historical research. Geography and historical demography were the first disciplines to recognise female migration, often describing women as following men (fathers, husbands, brothers) who were themselves considered to be the real socio-economic actors in migration. The reasons for women's migration are obviously more complex and multifactorial: intersectionality, displacement of populations following armed conflict, migration to coastal villages and port cities, artistic activity, education, etc. The online course WoMen On the Move offered by the Université de Picardie Jules-Verne (UPJV) sheds light on the historical, epistemological and ethical issues raised by women's migration by specialists from different disciplines and nationalities.
Subscription ends: June 5, 2024