Leading in the academy: women science professors at university college Dublin in the 1960s

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe under-representation of women in senior echelons of the academy, particularly in disciplines which have been historically male-dominated and male-led, is well-documented internationally. The narrative, however, is not a linear one, and there have been intervals of alteration and narrow apertures of opportunity. This article focuses on one of those intervals, the period 1957–1962, which saw three women professors being appointed to the Science Faculty at University College Dublin: Carmel Humphries (1909–1986) first female professor of zoology (1957); Phyllis Clinch (1901–1984) first female professor of botany (1961); and Eva Philbin (1914–2005) first female professor of organic chemistry (1962). Interrogating the career biographies of Humphries, Clinch, and Philbin, this article examines how as outsiders within an academic hierarchy marked by male privilege, these women managed to infiltrate the inner sanctum of university activity, undertaking leading, high profile academic roles in prestigious, male-dominated disciplines. The article finds, however, that while Humphries, Clinch, and Philbin were successful in negotiating, even shifting, the university’s centre of gravity for a brief period, this powerbase was soon eroded and the dominant hegemony reinstated, ushering women scientists back to the margins of university activity.