Breaking down barriers: standing on the shoulders of Australia’s early female chemists
Nicole McNamara
A , Anitha Kopinathan B , Helen Wolff C , Thomas H. Spurling C , Gregory Simpson C and Katherine E. S. Locock A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Manufacturing, CSIRO, Research Way, Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia.
B Medicinal Chemistry, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Vic. 3052, Australia.
C Centre for Transformative Innovation, School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Vic. 3122, Australia.
Australian Journal of Chemistry 76(2) 63-73 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH22235
Submitted: 10 November 2022 Accepted: 21 December 2022 Published: 10 February 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Women experience numerous forms of discrimination in the workplace, both direct and indirect. Historically, bias against women was institutionalised by organisations and governments to keep women from pursuing long-term careers in science and remain in the home. Although changes to policy have occurred within Australia, societal perceptions around women in science have proven resistant to change, with discrimination continuing even today. Despite the barriers facing them, some women were able to break through and achieve impactful science, proving themselves vital members of the workforce and paving the way for future generations. Herein, we describe four such female chemist trailblazers, Isabel Joy Bear, Enid Plante, Catherine Anne Money and Annabelle Duncan, who each worked at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) or the subsequent Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and helped to shape the face of chemistry in Australia in a male dominated environment.
Keywords: chemistry, CSIRO, diversity, history of science, inclusion, STEM, women.
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