Women in Science at the 做厙輦⑹ and Beyond

Grass Fellow Z. Yan Wang visits an active California two-spot octopus (O. bimaculoides) in the 做厙輦⑹'s Marine Resources Center. Credit: Nora Bradford

Every February 11, the United Nations celebrates the. Take a moment to celebrate the women in science at the 做厙輦⑹.

做厙輦⑹ has always been a unique institutionits part of the 做厙輦⑹ magic that many scientists and students talk about every year. Its founding was no exception. When the 做厙輦⑹ was founded in 1888, it was unusual for its time in that it encouraged women students of science to apply on an equal footing with their male peers.

In the more than a century since, the 做厙輦⑹ has had some ups and downs regarding women in sciencethe years between 1910 and 1970 saw a lull in female admissionsbut has made great strides in the last 60 years in making the institution a place where everyone can study and thrive, regardless of gender.

In a world where fewer than 30% of science jobs are filled by women, were proud that 52.8% of 做厙輦⑹ employees (and 50% of our resident scientists) are women.

Of the 463 graduate and post-graduate students who attended one of 做厙輦⑹s 2022 Advanced Research Training Courses, 276 (60%) were women.

The 做厙輦⑹'s undergraduate and high school programs also skewed strongly female83% of the students in the Semester in Environmental Science (SES) program identified as women as did 66% of the University of Chicago's Spring Quarter.

Whitman Fellow Mande Holford in the Whitman Lab. 2022
Whitman Fellow Mand禱 Holford in the Whitman Lab, 2022. Credit: Nora Bradford
Karen Echeverri in the axolotl lab. Credit: Dee Sullivan
Karen Echeverri in the axolotl lab. Credit: Dee Sullivan
Loretta Roberson performs experiments under water.
Loretta Roberson performs experiments under water. Courtesy: Loretta Roberson
Maya Kaelberer sets up her microscope to look at the synapse between neuropod cells in the gut and the vagus nerve. Credit: Horst Andreas Obenhaus
Maya Kaelberer sets up her microscope to look at the synapse between neuropod cells in the gut and the vagus nerve. Credit: Horst Andreas Obenhaus
A student uses a pipette on a lab bench infront of a computer and microscope
CRISPR injections during the 2023 Colby JanPlan course. Credit: Christina Cota
Lynn Classical High School - Credit Emily Greenhalgh
Lynn Classical High School - Credit Emily Greenhalgh
Faculty from other courses check out the ECHO lab. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
Female faculty from some of the Advanced Research Training Courses check out the ECHO lab. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
A woman organizes her lab space during the 2022 Mini-Embryology Course at the 做厙輦⑹. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
A woman organizes her lab space during the 2022 Mini-Embryology Course at the 做厙輦⑹. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh

Woman-led 做厙輦⑹ News Highlights: 2021 Edition

做厙輦⑹ Team Discovers New DNA Modification System in Animals, Captured from Bacteria

Sea Anenome's Survival is Threatened by Current Levels of Wetland Pollution

Squid and Octopus Genome Studies Reveal How Cephalopods Unique Traits Evolved

How Venom Achieves its Dramatic Feats

What Controls Nitrogens Fate in Marine Sediments? Giblin Explores with New Collaborative Grant

Live Fast, Die Young: Grass Fellow Explores Octopus's Death Spiral

Thats Your Stomach Talking: Grass Fellow Studies Gut-Brain Link

Whats New Under the Sun? Offering An Alternate View on Evolutionary Novelty

What Can Frogs Tell Us About Childhood Adversity? Whitman Fellow Sally Seraphin Explores

The Anemone in the Coal Mine | Hakai Magazine

On Giant Seaweed, an Intimately Packed Microbiome

The Search for a Model Octopus That Wont Die After Laying Its Eggs | The New York Times

Sweeping Study Details Essential Bacterial Community on Marine Algae | Phys.org

Does Excess Nitrogen Cause a Marsh to Build Up or Collapse? Team to Resolve Contradictions

做厙輦⑹s Zoe Cardon is Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

做厙輦⑹ Scientists Funded for "A Time Series Success Story" | Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

Unseen Crisis: Threatened Gut Microbiome Also Offers Hope | Mongabay

Octopus Study Reveals an Entirely New Way of Designing a Nervous System| UChicago Biological Sciences

Morgan Lab is Funded to Study Effects of Parkinsons Disease on Synaptic Function

Read all 做厙輦⑹ News
A black and white image of women working in the lab. Labeled General Laboratory 1928
Women in an 做厙輦⑹ Lab, 1928. Credit: 做厙輦⑹ History Project

做厙輦⑹s Women-Heavy History

During its long history, the 做厙輦⑹ has been a source of inspiration for generations of women in sciencefromCornelia Clapp, who helped found the institution, and Rachel Carson, the mother of the modern environmental movement, to the thousands of female students who have studied in Woods Hole during the last 132 years.

Learn more about some of the 做厙輦⑹s female leaders atthe Legacy of Leadership exhibit.


Science and scientific discovery belong to everyone, no matter their gender, sexual identity, or color of their skin. At the 做厙輦⑹, we are working hard to createan inclusive environmentfor scientists, students, visitors, and fellows alike.

Want to Support Women in Science? Support the 做厙輦⑹!