EFFET MATILDA

Sofia Kovalevskaïa

Sofia Kovalevskaya

mathematician, pioneer

Since Antiquity, women were destined to stay at home.
They were expected to be gentle, patient, obedient.

But one day, they appeared — those who refused that fate.
Those who read when everyone else was asleep.
Those who knocked on the closed doors of science.

Among them — Sofia Kovalevskaya.
The first woman professor of mathematics in Europe.

A voice that was silenced for far too long.

The “Matilda Effect” refers to the phenomenon in which the discoveries of women scientists were attributed to their male colleagues — a deeper way of denying their place and contribution in the history of science.

Matilda Timeline

Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace

mid-19th century

She invented
programming, yet was
forgotten for decades

Mileva Marić

Mileva Marić

early 20th century

She collaborated with
Einstein, but her name
disappeared

Lise Meitner

Lise Meitner

1930s–40s

She discovered nuclear
fission, but her colleague
received the Nobel Prize

Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin

1950s

She photographed DNA,
but her glory was stolen

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

Jocelyn Bell Burnell

1960s

She discovered pulsars,
but her supervisor
received the award

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