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Women’s History Month

In Focus

Celebrating Women’s History Month

As staff members, then as students and faculty, the women of ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­ paved the way for the next generation, and continue to carve new paths today.

Last updated: March 2024

A complicated history

While women weren’t taught at ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­ until 1879, they have always been a part of the University.

Yesterday’s pioneers

I am not the first woman who ought to have been called to ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­.”

Alice Hamilton

First woman on the faculty at ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­

Alice Hamilton
A late 1800s black and white photo of women in a classroom with blackboards

Star analysts of ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­

In the late 19th through the mid-20th century, these women classified the stars, determined their brightness, and discovered new stars, nebulae, and novae.

  • Leading a faculty

Patricia Albjerg Graham

Patricia Albjerg Graham
  • Early museum expert

Elisabeth Lyell Anthony

Elisabeth Lyell Anthony
  • First woman at ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­ Divinity

Emily Thornton Gage

A black and white photo of a woman holding a graduation cap on her head outside a building with a cross on it
  • Public health pioneer

Linda Frances James

Black and white photo of two men and a woman
  • Leader in oral health policy

Dolores Mercedes Franklin

A man and a woman stand together

Today’s leaders

The first step to being seen as a leader is to be seen at all.”

Pamela Chen

Creator of “Women Before Me,”
portraits of ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­ Medical School alumnae

A woman wearing a mask
A woman wearing a white lab coat stands in a laboratory holding a fluorescent tube. The room is lit in a pink/purple color.

Women making history

These extraordinary women at the Wyss Institute are changing the world.

  • Claudia Goldin

Nobel laureate traces major parts of the U.S. workforce

Claudia Goldin standing outside
  • Melanie Wood

First woman to win the Waterman Award in math

A woman stands outside by trees
  • Melissa Shang

Raising awareness about disability during the pandemic

Melissa Shang in ΒιΆΉ΄«Γ½Σ³»­ Yard
  • Amanda Gorman

Inaugural U.S. youth poet laureate

Amanda Gorman speaks at President Biden's inauguration

Making strides

Breaking through self-doubt

Studies show how employers could use simple-yet-powerful approaches to empower women to pursue senior roles and bring more talent to companies.

Debunking myths

A new report examines myths hampering the advancement of women in the workplace, the actual barriers, and possible solutions.

Moving up the ladder

Research shows that mergers shake up the status quo at companies and help women and people of color move up the ladder.

More hills to climb

Barriers in STEM

Tech companies and programs turn to recruiters to find top-notch candidates, but gender bias can creep in long before women even apply.

Are women less assertive in large classes?

A study found that women and men physicians participate differently in academic settings, potentially contributing to gender biases that disadvantage women students.

Black women who work in whiter teams may have worse job outcomes

New findings may offer a starting point for improving retention and diversity in elite firms.