Know Their Name: An Anthology of Great Women in the Shadows

TL;DR

This paper investigates the recognition disparity faced by women innovators through search data analysis, highlighting the importance of public awareness and showcasing stories of overlooked women in science.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence of gender recognition disparities using Google Trends data and presents stories of women innovators to address social exclusion.

Findings

Search trends show divergence in recognition between women and men.

Well-known cases like Rosalind Franklin show less disparity.

Publicizing women’s achievements can reduce recognition gaps.

Abstract

There has been a long history of women innovators producing outstanding contributions to society and public benefit yet having their work passed over or sidelined or attributed to male colleagues. This phenomenon has been coined the Matilda Effect. The amendments to the record of human achievements are now taking place, with an increasing pace in recent times due to greater social enlightenment and awareness and the interest in social justice. However, there remains a gap that must be addressed. In this article, we demonstrate the disparity in scientific recognition for a handful of case studies through search data collected via Google Trends and plotted as time-series figures and choropleth maps. Search trends reflect a noticeable divergence between recognition of female and male innovators. However, we note that in more well-known cases of the Matilda Effect, such as the historical account of Rosalind Franklin vs. James Watson and Francis Crick, the differences become less pronounced, emphasizing the importance of publicizing recognition. In response to this revelation, this article presents the stories of several women innovators and their great achievements. We identify the truth behind several discoveries and inventions, while revealing the full nature of this historical problem of social exclusion.