Simons Foundation: Women in Science: From the Exception to the Rule

Simons Foundation
160 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10010

While women continue to be underrepresented in science, the evolution of their journeys reveals a dynamic, inspiring and often overlooked narrative.

In her book, “The Exceptions,” Kate Zernike chronicles the remarkable life of Nancy Hopkins, a pioneering force in genetics who began her studies in the 1960s — a time when success and recognition in science was largely inaccessible to women. By the time Hopkins had become a noted molecular geneticist and cancer researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) nearly 40 years later, women were still denied the pay, prospects and prestige handed to men of lesser accomplishments.

Since then, significant progress has been made, including in 1999, when Hopkins led 16 women faculty in a campaign that culminated in MIT publicly admitting to a long history of discrimination against female scientists. By keeping such milestones in sight, we are inspired to commemorate other victories for women in science and motivated to confront the challenges that remain.

Join Zernike as she sits down with Kelsey Martin and Priya Rajasethupathy, two women at different stages in their scientific careers in neuroscience, for a conversation that examines these questions and issues by reflecting on their own experiences in the field.

Doors open: 5:30 p.m. (No entrance before 5:30 p.m.)

In Conversation: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (Admittance closes at 6:20 p.m.)

Reception: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Registration is required!