"An error that ascribes to a man what was actually the work of a woman has more lives than a cat."
It was Scientist Hertha Marks Ayrton who said that statement, in relation to how gender discrimination worked in science during the late 1800's and early 1900's. To celebrate her life, Google Doodle honors her and her achievements.
Ayrton lived during a time when women were considered as second class citizens. Even though she was gifted in knowledge, she was denied several times in recognition for her works such as the time when she passed the Mathematical Tripos but was not awarded an academic degree. This was when she attended Girton College, University of Cambridge. Cambridge didn't award her a full degree and only gave her a certificate because she was a woman. Another time was in 1906, when the Royal Society awarded Ayrton with the Hughes Medal for her achievements in physical sciences. But the academy denied her the honor of becoming a fellow, because she was married.
In her later years, she ran a club for working girls. Regardless of how busy she was in her field, she was still devoted to women. In 1919, she helped create the International Federation of University Women and the National Union of Scientific Workers, a year later. Time honors her memory especially on her scientific discoveries and victories over gender discrimination at work and in the home.
She may have been denied several times, but in 2010 she was elected as one of the most influential British women in the science world b the female Fellows of the Royal Society.
Because of her and many female scientists who were working in a male-dominated field, women are being recognized around the world as professional mathematicians, engineers, and the like.
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