For a long time, we have been seeing white males getting recognized for their research, even if they have stolen the findings from other researchers and scientists (most of the times from women). Why is this? Why did we see only males going to university? Why did we only see male professors? Why was there gender disparities in the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in terms of job opportunities, salary, and recognition/representation. Many decades ago, women were not allowed to peruse careers in STEM because of societal norms. For example, women botanists instead were only able to earn incomes as authors, illustrators or through gardening businesses.
However….women began to break the sound barrier and gender barrier along the way. Women were leaders in the early development of programming and even when it came to discovering the structure of DNA. Us women are bringing new, unique and creative approaches to STEM careers and are supporting each other while we do so!
A great example of a white woman in STEM is……
Fields: Medicine, Botany
Main Achievements: Canada’s first female Professor
Carrie Derick was born in 1862 in Clarenceville, Quebec. Derick was educated at the Clarenceville Academy and she began teaching by the age of 15. Derick then became a school teacher in Clarenceville and Montreal, and later was a principal of the Clarenceville Academy when she was 19 years’ old!
Derick pursued studies in Natural Science from McGill University in 1889, and graduated in 1890 with the highest GPA (94%). After graduating she worked part-time as McGill’s first female botany demonstrator (Aka TA). Derick began her master’s program at McGill and received her M.A. in botany by 1896. In 1901, Derick then attended the University of Bonn (Germany) and completed the research required for a Ph.D. but was not given an official doctorate since the University of Bonn DID NOT award women Ph.D. degrees at the time 😦
She then went back to McGill University and wrote directly to Principal Peterson. Due to her previous years of teaching, researching and publishing, Derick and was then given a new position of assistant professor at one-third the salary compared to other male assistant professors.
In 1912, Carrie Derick was officially promoted as a professor of morphological botany by McGill University which made her the FIRST woman both at McGill University and Canada to become the first female professor. When the botany department chair assigned her back as a TA, She later petitioned to have her title changed to be more representative of her expertise and field of research. She later went on the found a Genetics Department.
For most of her life, she was a feminist as she fought for women’s rights in education/voting/work, publicly supported birth control in Canada, as well as mandatory school attendance for children and care for children with disabilities.
Carrie Derick was one of the many women that us females look up to when it comes to #WomenInStem. She was a feminist, botanist, and supported other women that were in the field of STEM to fight for gender equality and to end the stigma! WAY TO GO CARRIE! 🙂
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 
