Extraordinary Women in Mathematics

Throughout history, women have faced incredible challenges in STEM disciplines. From cultural attitudes, to stereotypes and bias, some of which have transcended until today.

This Mathematics Awareness Month, Enovate shines a light on the powerful women in mathematics. Women like Ada Lovelace, that have paved the way for women today, like our very own Senior Data Scientist – Evgeniya Donstova, to succeed in this field.

Ph.D in mechanical engineering, Evgeniya, is the perfect example of how a woman mathematician looks like today. With an interest in multidisciplinary fields, this physicist, shifted her focus to a rapidly growing field: data science.

Like Ada herself, Evgeniya was encouraged at an early stage by a strong female role model, to pursue mathematics. Which built a strong foundation for her further education in the STEM disciplines.

"I admire strong women in sciences, but, I make my own path” – Evgeniya Donstova

Women in mathematics have had to work in a predominantly male environment, which brings challenges of their own. There has always been pressure to prove their worth, which is a natural driver to maintaining a level of achievement. However, over pressure may completely destroy the progress.

Thanks to extraordinary women fighting stereotypes and bias, we are able to enjoy modern computation, huge strides on the geometry of space, foundation of abstract algebra, and vital elements in decision theory, number theory and celestial mechanics. Which continue to provide essential advances in different fields.

Even with hard proof, the belief in the capacity of women to do mathematics, has been hard to shift. Today, even though, these issues are less and less encountered, women still have to battle some bias and have to work a little harder to prove their worth.

This shouldn’t discourage young women from diving head first into STEM disciplines. On the contrary. It’s a strong motivation to keep making strides for women everywhere and crucial breakthroughs in these fields.

By Jeanette Hani B. for Enovate