London, 23 January 2015. Today marks the day when – 100 years ago – The Physiological Society formally decided to admit women as members. Although The Society, founded in 1876, had never explicitly excluded women, female members were not officially admitted until July 1915. To gain membership of The Society, an existing member first had to propose someone and signatures were added in support. The Committee then decided upon approval of the candidate, after which the members were formally elected during a Society Meeting.
Florence Buchanan, an electrophysiologist at Oxford, was the first woman to be proposed as a member of The Society. There was a generally positive reception towards admitting women, and in July 1915, Florence, together with five other women, Winifred Cullis, Ruth Skelton, Sarah Sowton, Constance Leetham Terry and Enid Tribe, were elected as members. These six women were active physiologists and had already given communications to The Society, or published in The Journal of Physiology and what is now known as Experimental Physiology prior to becoming a member. All of them went on to work in diverse areas of physiology, such as electrophysiology, muscle physiology or teaching. Although many of the women are less heard of today, many were well known in their lifetimes and their contributions and achievements deserve to be remembered.
Professor Richard Vaughan-Jones, Professor of Cellular Physiology at The University of Oxford and current President of The Society, commented, “We are delighted to celebrate 100 years of women members in The Society. The Physiological Society is proud that we were one of the first Learned Societies to admit women members during that period, and certainly before emancipation. Today, we not only support women in science, but also increase diversity and inclusion within the science community.
“We therefore welcome Government measures to address diversity in STEM, including those in the recent Science and Innovation strategy. In particular we are pleased with the Government’s response to the (House of Commons) Science and Technology Select Committee Inquiry “Women in scientific careers”, recognising the need for unconscious gender bias training in Higher Education Institutions, a point we strongly emphasised in our submission to the Committee inquiry.”
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Notes for Editors
- The Physiological Society brings together over 3200 scientists from over 60 countries. The Society promotes physiology with the public and parliament alike. It supports physiologists by organising world-class conferences and offering grants for research and also publishes the latest developments in the field three leading scientific journals, The Journal of Physiology, Experimental Physiology and Physiological Reports. www.physoc.org
- To celebrate 100 years of women members, The Society has a range of activities planned. Amongst these is a National Schools’ Competition about women’s achievements in science to be launched during National Science Week on 13 March 2015. The Physiological Society will also be hosting a symposium on the research of the first six female members.
- On 6 October 2014, The Physiological Society signed up to the Science Council’s Declaration on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, making a public commitment to ensure our activities help and support increased diversity and inclusion within the science community.
Contact
Dr Helga Groll, Media and Communications Officer, The Physiological Society
+44 (0)20 7269 5727, pressoffice@physoc.org