Brief Historical Overview of Women and Scientific and Technical Societies

The paper begins with a brief summary of women's involvement in science, mathematics and technology from early modern Europe to today. In the early days of the creation of technical and scientific societies and academies, women were completely excluded, until around the middle of the twentieth century. In post modern days however, women have participated increasingly in these societies but this has not been at the same level. Women fellows in academies and in societies remain very much under-represented. A brief overview of women's participation in a number of societies as members and at the level of governance is presented. Strategies to increase the level of participation of women are suggested.