15 Comments
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Suruchi Chaudhary's avatar

Beautiful, Mahima!

The worst damage happens when women start double guessing themselves.

And thank you for the facts around science inventions. It hit hard.

Chetna's avatar

Wowww....This is one of my favorite articles!!

Tania's avatar

Thank you for educating us on the Matilda Effect. I've had it happen to me as well.

Like all women, I blamed it on my lack of assertiveness. But I will be mindful from now on.

As always, a great newsletter Mahima

Sudeepa Nair's avatar

My daughter will soon embark on her journey in STEM and I hope she doesn't have to deal with this. But based on my experience, I have warned her. The challenge is to appear as a team-player while letting your light shine. Men will always be considered a team-player plus a leader. For women, either she is not assertive or she is bossy.

Ajay Kelkar's avatar

I am part of a family with only women. I have two sisters & I have 2 daughters. Yet I used to get irritated by the constant rhetoric about women having it harder than men. I thought as long as I don't have those prejudices, its ok to not think of the sharper, harsher women's voices that are calling out the patriarchy.But I see the need now, more sharply in fact. The story about Pierry is hard hitting.

Sridhar's avatar

Good one, hopefully its getting better! You can add Gladys West to the illustrious list of ignored

https://spectrum.ieee.org/gladys-west-hidden-figure-gps

warboyziri's avatar

I recently was in paris and visited Marie Curie’s grave in the Pantheon, and I’m happy to report that Pierre was a patni vrata pati till the end: his grave is below hers in the crypts <3

Mahima Vashisht's avatar

Although the poor chap died first so that might not have been his decision. But you gotta love Pierre 💚💚💚

Lakshmi Iyer's avatar

Brilliant essay as always, Mahima.

Anger, repressed emotions and forgotten memories — all bubbled to the surface. There is no woman who has not undergone what you have brought out here. I did not know about the Wright Sister or the Matilda effect. These are good heuristics to use to make a point when occasions arise. Thanks for the addition to the armoury!

Aditi Taswala's avatar

Another brilliant article! I didn't know about Katherine Wright, and I visited a musuem exhibit featuring the Wright brothers showcasing the entire process behind their invention!

I am definitely buying the Tee please make it available soon:)

Kermaan Satha's avatar

Fantastic article, Mahima. I am sure all women can relate to this exasperating pattern.

Merril Diniz's avatar

When you see a Marie, be a Pierre 💚 Love this line. Interestingly, Marie and Pierre Curie's daughter was also a scientist who married a scientist and together they won a Nobel Prize. The apple did not fall far from the tree, and she also imbibed equality in partnership from her parents. On a diff note, I believe the problem has been discussed significantly - we need more actional pointers to nurture credit for ourselves. That can be useful for many generations of women. Hoping to see more of these advisories going forward, perhaps, with many more real-world stories.

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Jul 1, 2024
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Mahima Vashisht's avatar

I know this is an ick-feeling for you but this comment is such a breath of fresh optimism for me. To see things have changed SO much in the last 20 years - when young women like me graduated with no sense of the HIStory we were being taught in school. You give me so much hope for the future! ❤️

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Jul 2, 2024
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Mahima Vashisht's avatar

Those people have existed forever. I'm happy voices like yours are finally speaking up 💕