Cotton-Pickin’ Days

The history of women in science has always fascinated me for obvious reasons. As much as we would all like to believe that sexism doesn’t exist anymore, it’s still a daily experience for women around the world. I doubt anyone will forget the remarks made by Harvard President Larry Summers on women and science last year (he later apologized).

Dr. Paul Greengard is of a different breed. After winning the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, he used his award to create the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize in honor of his mother.

From his New York Times interview:

Q. In a recent article in Nature, the Stanford neurobiologist Ben Barres complained that male scientists rarely speak out against antiwoman bias when they see it. Would you agree?

A. Whenever I?ve seen it, I?ve spoken up.

One of the most outrageous things I ever saw was at an Ivy League university. A faculty couple were divorcing. The husband told his male colleagues it upset him to see his ex when she went to the ladies? room, near his laboratory. So this female scientist was ordered to take this circuitous route to the washroom ? up a set of stairs, over a hallway and down another staircase ? to protect the husband?s sensibilities. I said, ?If you don?t change this, I will report it and we?ll all lose our grants.?

I hope Dr. Greengard and others like him continue speaking out.