Today, we are going to introduce to you the Matilda effect. This name is unknown for you ? It’s case of a lot of person. But it had to be known.

If we ask you the name of scientists men, you will found a lot of exemples. But, if we ask you to give the name of scientists women, you may not find an other name than Marie Curie. It is the « Matilda effect ».

Now, let’s start with the beginning of the history : in 1960, Robert King Merton developed the theory that some people are more admitted than other. This is the « Mathieu effect ». In reference of a verse in Gospel according to Mathieu (13 :12) « Because whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have more; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away ».

Margaret W Rossiter (historian of science) has been interested by the « Mathieu effect » ; but she realized that this effect was really true in presence of women. She explained it by the « Matilda effect » (in tribute to Matilda Joslyn Gage (an activist feminist who has noticed that some men were monopolizing the intelectual world during the XIX th century). This theory  shine a light on a lot of inequalities between men and women :

• The graduation (women are less supported, recognized and boost).
• The place (they are less employed in prestigious institutions, so, their financial, technical and human ressources are more limited).
• Prices in competitive exams or the Nobel Price are most of the time earned by men !!!

To define the Mathilda effect it would be : 2 scientists one man, one woman, the man stole, minimize or occulte the work of the woman. He denigrates the work and knowledge of the woman and take all the glory at the same time. The worse in the story is that a lot of time the man who did that was their husband or co-worker, so people who are supposed to help and support them.

The biggest problem is that most of the time women are convinced they cannot do it and in consequences they shut themselves away.

For her theory, Margaret goes back to the XI th century where she interested herself to the story of Trotula of Salerne who was a doctor, a surgeon and what’s more, a writter !! She wrote medecine book about women. One of them is entitled « Women’s disease care ». It became the reference when we talk about gynaecology. Her book, have been assigned to a man because the idea that a woman can be so prestigious would be nearly impossible at this time.

The big problem of those inequalities it’s that women are not excluded because they are not qualified but because of their gender!

We already spoke about Rosalind Franklin. Now, we would like to tell you the history of Jocelyn Bell an astrophysicist who discovered a pulsar (a star of neutron) in 1967. The pulsar makes a large electromagnetic radiation bending back really fast on itself. The Nobel price hasn’t been immediatly given to Jocelyn Bell. In 1974, Anthony Hewish, his manager of thesis received it ! Justice has been restored in September the 6th 2018 for Jocelyn Bell who received the Nobel Price and who gave the money (3 millions dollars) to the institue of physical to offer scolarship to young women who can’t afford the cost of their studies, to fight for the injustice.

To finish, we wanted to speak about the famous Einstein and about Mileva Einstein, the 1rst woman of the physical genius. She participated at the emergence of the theory of the restrain relativity but, with no surprise, Albert Einstein and only him received the Nobel Price in 1921. Indeed, she was excluded from their researchs and their prizes giving.

In « Le cafard déchainé » they spoke about the 11 th February which is the international day of scientists women. This day represents the fight against sterotypes which takes away girls and woman from sciences. Because of that, women are under represented in the world of university in general. It can be the university lecturer or researchers, the teachers of university, or the PhD student women who are graduated…

We hope that the « Matilda effect » is now understood for you and that it has opened your eyes on something that should not exist !!

Maud, Juliette and Flora