Botanist Carolina Martinez Pulido demonstrates women’s achievements in science

Although the vast majority of society in their time considered them “women who paint flowers,” the pioneers of plant species observation and reproduction performed essential botanical work that is only now being recognized, after decades of neglect and forgetfulness.

This is what the doctor in biology and writer Carolina Martinez Pulido, author of the book, defended in her intervention plants. Women’s agriculture sciencewho participated in a meditation course Let’s talk about the biosphereorganized by the Biosphere Reserve Area of ​​the Cabildo de Lanzarote, which this year is entirely dedicated to photosynthesis.

The speaker reviewed the careers and achievements of many scientists who, despite stubborn male reluctance to enter research circles and academia, have done rigorous and valuable work that is now unanimously applauded.

The contributions of women such as Maria Sibylla Merian, Alice Eastwood, and Emma Lucy Brown, among many others, and the studies, drawings and discoveries that strengthened and enriched the foundations of professional botany, featured in a talk that attracted a large audience to UNED’s Aula Magna and which sparked a lively debate at its conclusion.

Besides reviewing the proper names, paths and scientific successes of the first botanists in history, Martínez Pulido launches an appeal in favor of saving and highlighting their works, which were carried out despite the difficulties imposed by eighteenth-century societies. , the nineteenth and much of the twentieth century. As he noted, “Only incorporating a gender perspective into previous research has allowed us to acknowledge the merits of these women and their contribution to the contemporary scientific body.”

The lecture was presented by the Director of UNED, Andrés Martin, who welcomed the attendees, and the Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve Technician, Quino Migueles, who presented the speaker’s academic and professional data.

His intervention, which was translated into sign language and broadcast live, can be viewed online through the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/o29mtyghkzI?si=L6cIgWnyio-TCNim.