Female pioneers

About the project

Equality - Gender roles

Connection to the educational policy: Social skills, Creativity

Type of material: Additional resources, Icebreakers, Projects

Target group: Students and staff aged 9-16

Subjects: Mental and social well-being, Equality, Innovation, Sustainability and science, Creation and culture

Twelve cool things women invented!

Bulletproof vest

Yes, this strong material found in bulletproof vests that has saved the lives of numerous police officers over time is the invention of chemist Stephanie Kwolek. She developed it in 1964 while trying to create a lighter and more durable material for use in tires. The material, called Kevlar, was patented in 1966 and is considered five times stronger than steel.

The paper bag

In 1868, Margaret Knight invented a machine that could cut, fold, and glue flat-bottomed paper bags. Margaret patented the bag in 1871, and it is well known around the world!

Fire escape

To combat the increasing number of deaths caused by fire in growing apartment districts, New York passed laws in 1861 requiring all tall buildings to have an external staircase. Initially, property owners were against it due to the high installation costs. It wasn't until 1887, when Anna Connelly patented a device that allowed residents on upper floors to move between floors, that the safety of apartment dwellers changed to what we know today.

The lifeboat

Maria Beasley was an engineer who patented countless inventions from 1878 to 1898, ranging from foot warmers and barrel manufacturing machines to equipment preventing trains from derailing. But perhaps her most significant contribution to humanity was the lifeboat, for which she obtained a patent in 1882.

Distress flare for the lifeboat

It was Martha Coston's untiring efforts that helped bring the distress flare into production. Martha worked from a design found in her late husband's papers and spent nearly 10 years developing the flare. The U.S. Navy was one of her first customers.

Computers

Not only had women begun programming computers long before "computer programmer" became a job title, but they also had a considerable impact on the computer itself from its inception. Ada Lovelace, considered by many to be the world's first programmer, worked with "the father of the computer," Charles Babbage, on the first computer algorithm in the early 1840s. Also, the computer scientist Dr. Grace Murray Hopper is credited with inventing one of the first sophisticated computer programs (later called COBOL) in 1959.

The medical syringe

It was Letitia Geer who patented the modern one-handed syringe in 1899.

The Apgar Scale

Known as the most common method for assessing the health of a newborn, the Apgar Scale is named after Virginiu Apgar, an obstetrician and anesthesiologist who developed the scale in 1952 while working at Sloane Hospital for Women.

Solar energy system

Mária Telkes was a biochemist and inventor, and was one of the pioneers of the solar power movement around 1940. She created both the first heating engine in 1947 and the refrigerator in 1953, and in between, she designed the first 100% solar energy system or solar cells with architect Eleanor Raymond.

Stem cells

Obviously, no one can be so bold as to claim they invented stem cells, but Ann Tsukamoto was one of two people who patented a method for isolating stem cells from humans in 1991.

Chocolate chip cookies

With all due respect to computers and solar energy, these inventions are nowhere near as tasty as chocolate chip cookies. Ruth Graves Wakefield knew this, which is why she invented the first chocolate chip cookie in the 1930s.

Beer

Although it can never be said for certain who invented beer, historian and Booze School founder Jane Peyton is among the many who argue that it was women. She discovered during her research on the origins of beer that nearly 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Sumeria, women's skills were so esteemed that they were the only ones allowed to brew the drink or run taverns. Many ancient societies also described beer as a gift from goddesses.

The list is not exhaustive…!