Milestones of the 1990s

The following milestones show that the climate and the opportunities for women in mathematics in the 1990s are much brighter than in the past. Credit for the many wonderful accomplishments being made by individual women mathematicians goes to these individuals, although AWM can certainly claim credit for bringing to public awareness the previous lack of women.

AWM 20th anniversary celebration. January 17, 1991. Jill Mesirov, 1989-91 AWM president (left) recognizes Bettye Anne Case, AWM meetings coordinator, for “Outstanding Service to the Association”.

Speakers at ICMs. Before the 1990s, Emmy Noether (in 1932) had been the only female Plenary Lecturer at an International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). Then in 1990 (Kyoto) Karen Uhlenbeck was a Plenary Lecturer, in 1994 (Zurich) Ingrid Daubechies and Marina Ratner both were, and in 1998 (Berlin) Dusa McDuff was one of 21 Plenary Lecturers that year. In 1994, 8 other women delivered Invited Addresses at the ICM (out of a total of 152); in 1998, 11 did (out of a total of 165). Furthermore, in both 1994 and 1998 AWM and EWM jointly sponsored an Emmy Noether Special Lecture at the ICM, which was given by Olga Ladyzhenskaya in 1994 and Cathleen Morawetz in 1998. In the U.S. each January Joint Meeting from 1993 to 1998 has featured at least four invited hour addresses by women (including the AWM Noether lecture as one of these); the specific numbers are five, four, eight, four, five, five. At the summer Mathfests in the 1990s, the Hedrick Lectures have twice been given by women. In fact, the major mathematics organizations have established guidelines that encourage organizers to include women; women often have leadership positions in these organizations or serve on program committees for meetings.

Governance by Women in Mathematical Organizations. In 1996 Cathleen Morawetz and Margaret Wright, presidents of AMS and the SIAM respectively, were part of an even more remarkable phenomenon: during that year women presided over eleven major organizations for mathematical scientists and educators in North America plus the umbrella scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science.¹ A number of these women were not the first female presidents of their organizations (for example, Julia Robinson was the first female AMS president,and mathematician Mina Rees the first female AAAS president), but it was extraordinary that so many women were presidents simultaneously. Many women mathematicians are active in all these organizations, as well as the MAA (which had three female presidents in previous years), both in governance positions and as organizers and speakers at meetings.

Many women mathematicians are active in SIAM, both in governance positions and as organizers and speakers at SIAM meetings. Barbara Keyfitz is vice vresident for programs and served as chair of the Program Committee for the 1998 SIAM annual meeting; Linda R. Petzold is vice president for publications. Joyce McLaughlin is the chair of SIAM's Board of Trustees. Rosemary Chang, Margaret Cheney, and Mary F. Wheeler are all members of the SIAM Board. Marsha Berger, Pamela Cook, and Suzanne Lenhart are all members of the SIAM Council. At the 1998 SIAM Annual Meeting and SIAM Discrete Mathematics Meeting (held jointly), there were five Invited Addresses by women.

Mathematics Competitions. For the first time in the twenty-four years of U.S. participation in the Olympiad, the 1998 U.S. team included a young woman, Melanie Wood, a silver medalist from Indiana. For the first time, the Canadian team included two young women, Mihaela Enachescu of Westmount, Quebec and Yin (Jessie) Lei of Windsor, Ontario. Among the top twenty countries there were thirty-eight women.

Footnotes.

American Mathematical Association for Two-Year Colleges: Wanda Garner; AMS: Cathleen Morawetz; Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics: Mari Muri; American Statistical Association: Lynne Billard; AWM: Chuu-Lian Terng; Canadian Mathematical Society: Katherine Heinrich; Institute of Mathematical Statistics: Nancy Reid; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Gail Burrill; National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics: Bonnie Walker; SIAM: Margaret right; Sociedad Matemática Mexicana: Patricia Saavedra; AAAS: Rita Colwell.

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