Sixty-five percent of Americans cannot, according to a recent survey.
I don’t see a comparable estimate of U.S. knowledge of famous male scientists, so hard to know if American ignorance in this area is gender-specific.The good news, if you’re someone who wants to see more girls entering scientific fields, is that strong majorities of Americans believe females are underrepresented in such professions and would like to see the government invest more to lure them into those occupations. The survey, titled “Women, Science, and Success: The New Face of Innovation,” was conducted by L’Oreal USA, the American subsidiary of the international cosmetics, perfume, and beauty corporation.
The first female scientist who came to mind for me, for whatever reason, was primatologist Jane Goodall (to the right). Who’s yours?
Photo by Jean-Marc Bouju/AP-File