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

Study chemistry, start a family, or both? Do you really want to make it as a chemist in a male-dominated world? Accept a lower salary than your male colleagues? A job in a library?

These are all questions that have been on the minds of GDCh members for some time now. For 25 years, the GDCh has been explicitly committed to equal opportunities in chemistry. It will celebrate this anniversary in 2025 with various activities. These include issue No. 5, 2025, of Nachrichten aus der Chemie), the JCF interview series " Children and Career," and the GDCh anniversary event "25 Years of Commitment to Equal Opportunities in Chemistry" on December 1, 2025, at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

We at SEC are also contributing to this: We are collecting reports, stories, anecdotes, pictures, and contemporary documents about studying chemistry and choosing careers in the 1950s to 1970s. The contributions received so far are impressive:

Has reading these reports inspired you? Then get started and tell us your own story! What was it like for you when more and more women entered chemistry lecture halls? What was it like to be the first woman in a working group , or as a man to suddenly have a female classmate? What was the situation regarding equal opportunities back then? Was this openly discussed? Were there hurdles put in place? Who studied under the first female professor? Were there situations that you view more critically from today's perspective, or that make you smile today? Did you even find each other for life, or did lasting friendships develop? — and much more. We also want to pay special attention to couples to find out how they managed career and family back then. We hope to receive many stimulating contributions here, because this challenge is still relevant today.

To help you overcome the fear of the blank page, we've put together a suggested outline for you: " Structure of an Article: 'Chemists' Tell Their Stories'." Barbara Pohl would be happy to receive your contribution.