Throughout the years women have fought hard for gender equality. This is one the the most crucial discussions we are having as a society today. It takes courageous women to break barriers and fight for the love of science.
Women like Irene Joliot-Curie have paved the way for women throughout the years. She was born September 12, 1897 in Paris. As a physical chemist she was awarded a share of the 1935 Nobel Prize for her research on artificially induced radioactivity. In 1925, After having worked on radioactivity with her mother, Marie Sklodowska, she received her doctorate at the University of Paris. In 1934 Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie, her husband, discovered that they could induce stable light elements to become radioactive by bombarding them with alpha particles. Throughout her life she did ground breaking research alongside her husband. Her research lead scientists closer and closer to uranium fission. She died of leukemia in 1956 at age 58.
Although there is still a long road ahead for gender equality in the sciences, women like Irene Curie have paved the way for many women. Doing research, breaking barriers, fighting for the love of science is worth the effort. To be a part of something bigger than ourselves and not letting our gender define us is what women in science have fought for generations. People must not be defined by their gender but my their ability to work hard for something they are passionate about.
