Rosalind Franklin — "I often feel that women in science have to work twice as hard to prove themselve…"
I often feel that women in science have to work twice as hard to prove themselves.
Get This Quote & Author's Image Illustrated On:
Click any product to generate a realistic preview. Up to 3 at a time.
* Initial load can take up to 90 seconds — revising the preview in another color is nearly instant.
Kitchen
Apparel
Other
More from Rosalind Franklin
"I find great joy in the process of scientific discovery."
"I find it a great pity that the scientific world is so competitive. It often hinders progress."
"I am going to be the blonde in a woodcut."
"I don't mind being accused of being too cautious. I prefer to be right."
"I prefer to let my results do the talking."
Verification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
Women entering scientific fields face a double burden: they must demonstrate competence at a higher standard than male colleagues simply to receive equal recognition. Merit alone is insufficient. They must continually prove their worth against assumptions of inadequacy, navigating institutional bias, exclusion from informal networks, and skepticism about their capabilities that male scientists rarely encounter.
Relevance to Rosalind Franklin
Franklin's crystallography work on DNA was used without her knowledge by Watson and Crick, who received the 1962 Nobel Prize she never shared. Working at King's College amid an openly hostile environment where women were barred from the senior common room, her meticulous X-ray images — particularly Photo 51 — were foundational yet credited to others during her lifetime.
The era
Mid-20th century science was overwhelmingly male-dominated institutionally and culturally. Women scientists faced formal exclusion from clubs, informal dismissal in meetings, and systemic barriers in funding and publication. Post-WWII expansion of research institutions rarely translated into equal opportunity for women, who remained tokens in laboratories where their intellectual contributions were routinely minimized or appropriated by male colleagues.
AI-generated insights based on extensive research and information for context. Factual errors? Email [email protected].