Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Women in Maths -- on Facebook

     Recently I prepared an item for Rachel Levy's Grandma Got STEM blog that told a bit about my granddaughters who like math.  My preparation for that posting led me to focus on my wish to have math be a fun place for girls to hang out -- a place for lots of girls:  feminine girls, sporty girls, popular girls, silly girls (as well as geek girls).  Mathematics has mostly been a lonely place for females -- my first  girl-friend who was also a math person was a colleague whom I met in my 40s (see my poem for Toni, "Girl-Talk").   I want mathematics to be a welcoming place for my granddaughters. A place with friends.
     Related to this concern, wonderful news came in my email box recently from Susanne Pumpluen (video) at the University of Nottingham.  She has started a Women in Maths page on Facebook .  There one can find bios, videos, news links and FRIENDS.  Visit.  LIKE. Offer your comments and support. 
     Among my thoughts about being a math woman is recollection of a remark made to me back in the days that I was a youngish professor.  A remark by a male colleague, a chemistry professor, a remark for which I did not have a strong reply:

               I like
               you, JoAnne.
               You think
               like a man.

Why do I remember this so well?  What might I have said in response?

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Marion--
      I like you because you are fun to be with and smart--and I like that we have both math and poetry in common!

      Delete