Today marks the 90th anniversary of the death of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, an outstanding physicist, chemist, scientist, and two-time Nobel Prize laureate. Her discoveries contributed to the advancement of medicine, particularly oncology.
Although Maria Skłodowska-Curie is the only woman to have received the Nobel Prize twice for her scientific research—which is, of course, a tremendous achievement— and a great honor, unfortunately, women’s contributions to the advancement of science and society have for years been overlooked or claimed by their superiors or mentors. This system, which has operated for centuries, has meant that little is said or taught in schools about women’s achievements in many areas, such as science, education, politics, business, and the arts. It’s a bit like omitting half of history...
An initiative that is extremely important and well-deserved—for women and for society.
We must constantly strive to ensure that women’s contributions are not pushed to the margins and that equality prevails in research centers, legislative chambers, and lecture halls.
An example of a woman whose achievements were completely overlooked by her “colleagues”—who accepted awards without mentioning her contributions at the time—was Rosalind Franklin. Without her discoveries, it would not have been possible to describe the structure of DNA!
We must remember this and promote gender equality, especially since there are no women among the patrons of the current year—listed on the Polish Sejm’s website—for 2024!
In accordance with the resolutions adopted by the Sejm, 2024 is the Year of: Marek Hłasko, Archbishop Antoni Baraniak, Romuald Traugutt, Wincenty Witos, Kazimierz Wierzyński, Melchior Wańkowicz, the Ulm Family, Zygmunt Miłkowski, and Polish Olympians.
To say that this is a major omission and an injustice is an understatement...
Maria Skłodowska-Curie (Photo: Ministry of Health)
