The first female Fellows and the status of women in the Geological Society of London

Abstract

Women were first permitted

The contribution of women to Welsh geological research and education up to 1920

“…They have acted as collectors, indexers, and educators to illustrators and researchers. Their research was rewarded by medals and financial awards by the Geological Society of London but despite these achievements, it was only after 1919 that the Geological Society finally admitted female members to read papers and collect their research awards (Burek, 2009a). Research conducted by female geologists was presented by their male colleagues ( Table 2).…”

“…For clarity as both Ethels have very similar names their maiden names will be used throughout except where quotes from others dictate otherwise. Catherine Raisin worked on Welsh petrology and serpentenites (Burek, 2004(Burek, , 2007(Burek, , 2009a(Burek, , 2009bBurek and Malpas, 2007). The important research of Emily Dix , who was born on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, graduated with a first class Hons.…”

“…All these women with the exception of Ethel Skeat had never lived in Wales and none were born Welsh. Jane Donald, (Donald, 1905) later Mrs. Mary Jane Longstaff, was Scottish the rest were English (Burek, 2009a). These women along with Mary Johnston, Annie Greenly and Dilys Davies not only made significant academic contributions to Welsh research but also played pivotal roles in advancing knowledge through collecting, recording, photographing, editing manuscripts, educating students and providing field assistance.…”

“…However a detailed assessment of their geological work remains outside the scope of this paper as it covers more than just Wales and can be read elsewhere (Skeat and Crosfield, 1896;Wood, 1901-1918;Creese and Creese, 1994;Burek, 2007;Burek and Malpas, 2007;Burek, 2009a). However in the Geological Society awards and medals citations, the women are praised for their academic achievements, which are often based on their work inside Wales.…”

“…Within the broader context of female education the important turning points were 1870 and 1875 which firstly introduced the Elementary Education Act (1970) initiating universal public elementary education in place of private schools and secondly in 1875 the admittance of women into universities (Burek, 2009a). The first dictated the need for teachers to be trained and the second gave a mechanism for that process to happen.…”