Women Of Mathematics Portrait Exhibition

The Betty and Gordon Moore library are now proudly taking part in the touring 'Women of Mathematics throughout Europe' portrait exhibition. The display has been handsomely mounted and is taking pride of place on the lower-ground floor. Please feel free to visit the exhibtion as it is open to all.

Sneak Preview

About the exhibition

Entering the field of mathematics can be tough, and women often encounter specific obstacles. The exhibition offers a glimpse into the world of mathematics through photographs (by Noel Tovia Matoff) and excerpts of interviews (by Sylvie Paycha and Sara Azzali) of thirteen women mathematicians throughout Europe. This website provides a platform for contact, exchange and mutual assistance.

This touring exhibition, whose starting point is the 7th ECM held in July 2016 in Berlin, stems from the observation that nowadays, women still find it difficult to embrace a career in the mathematical academic world and the disparity between the proportion of men and that of women among professional mathematicians is still shamefully large.

The thirteen women mathematicians portrayed here share with us their experience, thus serving as role models to stimulate young women scientists to trust their own strength. In presenting mathematics through women mathematicians’ perspectives and samples of their life stories, we hope to highlight the human aspects of producing mathematics, making this discipline more tangible and therefore more accessible to outsiders or newcomers.

Following the opening in Berlin, the exhibit will travel to several other cities in Europe. This touring format is envisaged as a networking opportunity, reinforcing collaborations and exchanges between mathematicians in different European countries, and stimulating dialogue around the themes of the exhibition between the general public and mathematicians.

Bringing this exhibition project to life turned out to be much more difficult than expected, for a project centered around women issues does not find much support in a mathematical world still very much dominated by men. We have learned a lot from overcoming the many obstacles on the path to its realization.