What was it like when more and more women studied chemistry?

Dear chemists,

In 2025, the GDCh will celebrate its 25th anniversary of its commitment to equal opportunities in chemistry. There will be a diverse program throughout the year, and planning has begun.

Our SEC group would like to make a contribution to this. We are looking for reports, stories, anecdotes, pictures and contemporary documents about studying chemistry and choosing a career in the 1950s to 1970s. We are convinced that not only female chemists can tell many interesting stories, but also male chemists, and we would like to record these for future generations of scientists.

How did you experience it when more and more women entered the chemistry lecture halls? What was it like to be the first woman in the working group , or as a man to suddenly have a female fellow student? What was the situation with equal opportunities back then? Was it openly discussed? Were hurdles put in place? Who studied under the first female professor? Were there situations that you would look at more critically from today's perspective, or that you have to smile about today? Did you even find each other for life, or did lasting friendships develop? — and much more. We also want to pay particular attention to couples to find out how they managed their career and family back then. We hope to receive many stimulating contributions here, because this challenge is still relevant today.

Join in - tell us your diverse stories! To help you get started and avoid the horror of the blank page, we have put together a suggested outline for you: " Structure of an article 'Chemists' tell their stories' ".

The contributions will be edited and presented in a suitable form next year. This could be a publication in the planned special issue of " Nachrichten aus der Chemie " or a collection of stories, an interview or a lecture . We look forward to active participation and exciting memories! Please send all stories to: chancengleichheit.sec@web.de with the password "sec.chancengleichheit."

Best regards on behalf of the SEC Board
Dr. Barbara Pohl
Vice Chair of the SEC