How Often are Women’s Contributions Overlooked?

Think about the most famous inventors we are taught about in elementary school. Some names might immediately come to mind such as: Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford, and so on. Something each of these inventors have in common is that they are all men. There are few women credited with the invention of many modern wonders, but it’s hard to believe that women have made little to no contributions to technology over time.

With this thought in mind, let’s consider this anecdote from scholar, author, and activist Sandi Toksvig:

“When I was a student at Cambridge I remember an anthropology professor holding up a picture of a bone with 28 incisions carved in it. 'This is often considered to be man’s first attempt at a calendar' she explained. She paused as we dutifully wrote this down. ‘My question to you is this – what man needs to mark 28 days? I would suggest to you that this is woman’s first attempt at a calendar.’ It was a moment that changed my life. In that second I stopped to question almost everything I had been taught about the past. How often had I overlooked women’s contributions?”

I came across this quote while scrolling through social media, and it raised the same question for me as for Toksvig: How often have I overlooked the inventions and ingenuity of women? Throughout school, Marie Curie is one of the only women who is discussed as making contributions to science alongside men during a certain time period and continuing into today; it’s hard to believe that she is one of the only women who made a notable contribution to science and technology. The way in which we are educated and socialized oftentimes discounts women unless the discussion is specifically about them, such as discussions about feminism or notable women throughout history. Over time, women have made notable contributions which have been overlooked and devalued. It’s time we start paying attention to women and their contributions to our world.