The
following is a brief overview on the history of
women's contributions to the field of soil science.
Since almost nothing has been written on the topic,
my comments are based on recent oral histories and
research at the National Archives and National Agricultural
Library in Washington, D.C. Most of the information
is anecdotal and from the interviewees' own experiences.
I have tried to bring this information together
within a historical framework. I have not included
the Russian or Eastern European women soil scientists
in this study, though their contributions are extensive
and significant to the general study of soil science. |
The
Pioneers (1895-1965) |
| 1895 |
|
Miss Janette Steuart
and Miss Sorena Haygood maintained laboratory and
field records in Washington, D.C. for the Soils Division
of what was then the U.S. Weather Bureau of USDA. |
| June 1901 |
|
Miss Julia Pearce was appointed to
one of the first USDA Soil Survey field parties (Hanford,
CA) as an assistant in the Soil Survey (Macy Lapham,
Crisscross Trails). She copied maps. A short time
later, she was transferred to Washington to work in
the physical laboratory. |
| 1920's |
|
Mary Baldwin, the wife of soil inspector
Mark Baldwin (USDA Soil Survey, 1912-1944) described
mapping with her husband in northern Wisconsin. She
and her husband mapped during the summer months, camping
and using a small boat to go from island to island. |
| Mid 1930's
|
|
Charlotte Whitford (Coulton) graduated
with a M.S. in botany from Ohio State University before
taking a job as secretary for a Soil Conservation
Service (SCS) field soils staff in Zanesville, OH.
She was recruited to work as an assistant soil technologist
in Washington, D.C. on a series of soil erosion reports.
She later worked as an editor on soil surveys and
eventually became head of the publications staff of
the SCS. |
| 1937 |
|
Miss Lois Olson and Dr. Arthur Hall
spoke on studies in erosion history as part of a series
of research seminars to the Soil Conservation Service.
Some of today's thinking on interpretations of the
soil survey and field practices to control erosion
is attributed to this series of lectures between 1936-37.
Miss Olson, a geographer by training, was the head
of the Erosion History section of the Soil Conservation
Service. |
| 1939 |
|
Ester Parsons Perry was the first
woman to receive a Ph.D. in soil science in the United
States. She received her Ph.D. in soil science from
the University of California, Berkeley. Her thesis
was titled, Profile studies of the more extensive
primary soils derived from granitic rocks in California
(9). From reading her thesis, Professor Gary Sposito
of the University of California, Berkeley, thinks
that she was one of the first students to use x-ray
defraction to look at the clay mineralogy structure
in soils. From 1939 on to 1965 when she retired, she
worked in and ran the soil survey lab, University
of California at Berkeley. |
| 1941 |
|
Dorothy Nickerson was a color technologist
for USDA from the late 1920's through the 1940's.
Nickerson was instrumental in developing the soil
color standards for soil survey. She worked with T.D.
Rice, Kenneth Kelly, and Albert H. Munsell to adapt
the Munsell color chart system for describing soil
color in the lab and the field. After extensive colorimetric
testing by Nickerson in the lab and by soil scientists
in the field, the Munsell color charts and a new set
of color names were adopted by the American soil survey
in 1949. |
| 1946 |
|
Officially, the first woman soil
scientist in the field for the Soil Conservation Service
(SCS)-USDA was Mary C. Baltz (Tyler). Mary Baltz graduated
from Cornell University and joined the soil survey
as a "junior soil surveyor" in Madison and
Oneida Counties, NY. W.W.II labor shortages provided
an opening for her to work in a job that, up to that
time, appeared to be reserved for men (4). Mary Baltz
worked for the SCS until about 1965. |
| 1992 |
|
Mary West is Executive Committee
Chair. Guest editors are Susan Samson, Jackie Pashnik,
and Donna Duffy. Committees are organized: Executive,
Newsletter, Mentoring, Directory, Meetings, Current
Issues, Membership, Other Societies. AWSS discrimination/sexual
harassment survey is conducted. AWSS support group
is formed. AWSS meets at ASA meeting in Minneapolis,
MN. The first AWSS meeting with SWCS takes place in
Baltimore, MD. Membership is 170. |
In
the Classroom, In the Field and In the Lab (1965-1990's) |
| 1950-60's |
|
Very few women received soil science
degrees, taught, conducted research, or worked in
the field. While the 1960's career counseling documents
focused on helping women plan for work and marriage,
the documents in the 1970's began to discuss ways
to channel women into nontraditional careers. Encouraging
young women to enter nontraditional occupations continued
as a theme into the 1980's. |
| 1964 |
|
Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited sex discrimination
in federal employment. |
| 1965-1975 |
|
Women who received a Soil Science
Ph.D. in the late 1950s and early 1960's began teaching
soil science in US Universities: Dr. Nellie Stark,
Dr. Eva Esterman, and Dr. Jane I. Forsyth. |
| 1978 |
|
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
required that the federal work force reflect the nation's
diversity. |
| Mid to late
1970's |
|
Women were more commonly hired to
work for the SCS as field soil scientists. |
| 1980 |
|
The Women in Science and Technology
Equal Opportunity Act in 1980 opened up more opportunities
for women to receive support in the university setting. |
| Early 1980's
|
|
The Association of Women Soil Scientists
(AWSS) was started by a group of women soil scientists
in the US Forest Service. |
| 1985 |
|
Dr. Elizabeth L. Klepper was the
first woman ever to receive the prestigious Fellow
Award from Soil Science Society of America (SSSA).
Her research has concentrated on root growth and function
under field conditions and plant-soil water relations.
She is a recipient of other Fellow awards from all
three agronomic research societies: American Society
of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Society of America (CSA),
and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). Other
female SSSA Fellows that have provided outstanding
contributions to soil science are Mary Beth Kirkham
(1987), Mary K. Firestone (1995), and Jean L. Steiner
(1996). |
| 1988 |
|
Carol Wettstein was the first
woman state soil scientist with the Soil Conservation
Service (NRCS)-USDA (SCS Maryland 1988-89) and later
was state soil scientist in Colorado (1990-95).
Carole Jett was state soil scientist in California
in 1991, and Carol Franks was a state soil scientist
in Arizona in 1994. |
The
"Yes" Generation (1990 and on) |
With the mid 1980's through 1990's there has been
a substantial increase in women researchers and
associate professors in our US universities in the
soil science field. As an example, at last count
there are 3 women pedology professors in the US:
Dr. Mary Collins, Dr. Janice Boettinger, and Dr.
Christine Evans. Women researchers and associate
professors in all aspects of soil sciences are active
throughout our university system and research agencies.
My written paper documents many of these women's
recent achievements. Many women have presented a
paper on their career highlights in a seminar at
the Soil and Water Conservation Society meeting
in 1999, and many other women are consist in their
performance and participation in SSSA meetings.
According to the Fall 1996 Enrollment
for Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources and
Forestry Report by FAEIS, between 1987 and 1996,
soil science, education, communication and social
science experienced the largest growth in percent
female participation. Soil Sciences was 16.2% female
in 1987 and 32% female in 1996. General enrollment
of students (B.S., M.S. and Ph.D.'s) in the soil
sciences has held relatively steady between 1987
and 1996, fluctuating between 1,200 and 1,500 students.
In 1996 there were 228 female B.S. graduates in
soil science, almost double from 10 years before.
Doctoral and Masters candidates in the soil sciences
in 1996 are also about one-third female, once again
double from 10 years prior (34). |
