Throughout history, women have made significant strides in chemistry, but more importantly, the chemical industry has made significant strides because of the contributions of women.
Women have contributed to chemical sciences since medieval alchemy, but all too often they were invisible catalysts for discovery and innovation. During the 19th and 20th centuries, women in chemistry often faced discrimination and were only allowed auxiliary roles.
Despite the challenges, women have persevered to create some of the most life-changing innovations of our time.
DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek’s work with fibers led her to discover a material five times stronger than steel. Named Kevlar® by DuPont, Kwolek’s discovery has important and countless applications. It has saved lives as lightweight body armor and is used in clothing and gear to protect athletes and scientists. Kevlar ropes and cables suspend bridges and elevators. It is used in spacecraft and underseas to protect optical-fiber cable.
Physicist and chemist Katharine B. Blodgett was the first woman with a doctorate to work at General Electric, working alongside Irving Langmuir on single-molecule surface layers. Now known as Langmuir-Blodgett films, they are essential to creating all kinds of coatings, membranes, sensors and electronic devices, including non-reflective glass.
Patsy O’Connell Sherman co-invented the stain and water repellant treatment ScotchgardTM while at 3M. She and Samuel Smith were working on a fluorochemical rubber for jet fuel hoses when they observed the substance repelled water and oily liquids. Seeing the potential in the material, they teamed up to develop a series of stain repellants for a variety of fabrics, thus creating ScotchgardTM.
Chemist Ruth Benerito developed wrinkle-free cotton by discovering a cross-linking process that strengthened the bonds between cotton’s chainlike cellulose molecules. Using a special topical chemical reagent to create a reaction in the cotton kept the fabrics flexible, but reduced their tendency to wrinkle. Her method was later used to develop stain and flame-retardant fabric. It is also used in paper and wood products, as well as epoxy resins.
Over her career, she amassed 55 patents. Edith Flanigen invented molecular sieves, or zeolites, while working for Union Carbide (now part of Dow). These manufacturing compounds made an important impact in petroleum and petrochemical refining and improved the manufacture of many products from gasoline to laundry detergent.
Flanigen invented and co-invented more than 200 novel synthetic materials and made substantial contributions to make oil refining more efficient, cleaner and safer. Flanigen’s work with molecular sieves also led to innovative applications in water purification and environmental cleanup, including decontaminating water at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Today, women are gaining prominence in chemical fields. “Get It Made” ranked the manufacturing industries that employ the most women, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Current Population Survey. Chemical manufacturing ranked number three, with women making up 38% of the industry’s workforce. Textiles, apparel and leather manufacturing employ the highest percentage of women, with food manufacturing taking the number two spot.
In Texas, the industries employing the highest percentage of women are apparel manufacturing, textile product mills, leather and allied product manufacturing. They are also among the lowest paid. Women account for 25% of jobs in chemical manufacturing — the subsector with the highest job growth. The average annual wage is the third highest at $137,950.
Chemical companies are working to attract women to their manufacturing sites and leadership roles. BASF has set a goal of 30% of leadership roles to be held by women by 2030.
In an interview with the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, Flanigen said, “Good ideas are even better ideas when they can improve people’s lives and help the Earth.”
March is Women’s History Month; we celebrate all women in chemistry whose good ideas help people flourish. We will continue working to pave the way for countless more women to join them in making history.
For more information, visit texaschemistry.org or call (512) 646-6400.