France will engrave the names of 72 outstanding female scholars on the Eiffel Tower

France will honor women's contributions to scientific and technological progress by engraving the names of 72 outstanding female scholars on the Eiffel Tower, alongside the names of 72 male scholars who were engraved more than 130 years ago.

The names of 72 outstanding scholars were engraved on the foot of the Eiffel Tower more than 130 years ago - Photo: LA TOUR EIFFEL

In 1889, Gustave Eiffel - the designer of the Eiffel Tower - engraved the names of 72 of France's greatest scholars at the foot of the tower in 60cm high capitalized gold letters.

These scientists were all men, living and working between 1789 and 1889. They included artist and chemist Louis Daguerre - inventor of the Daguerreotype photography technique, physicist Andre-Marie Ampere and astronomer Francois Arago.

More than 130 years later, the Paris authorities will add the names of 72 outstanding female scholars to the iconic French building to ensure gender balance.

"The goal is to celebrate the historical contributions of women to science and technology," said the expert committee in charge of the project.

The expert committee is chaired by astrophysicist Isabelle Vauglin, vice president of the Women and Science Association, and Jean-Francois Martins, director of the company that operates the Eiffel Tower.

The committee said the recognition would address the "Matilda effect" - a term coined by American scientist Margaret Rossiter in 1993, which refers to the systematic denial of women's contributions to scientific progress.

The term is named after American civil rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage.

A list of names of female scholars will be proposed to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo for her approval before the end of 2025.

The committee wanted to limit its selection to outstanding female experts who lived from 1789 to the present, were deceased, and were mainly of French nationality.

To ensure gender balance, committee members proposed engraving the names of female scholars above the current strip of letters engraved with the names of male scholars.

The Eiffel Tower is owned by the city of Paris. It is one of the most visited sites in the world with around 7 million visitors each year, most of them foreign.

THANH HIEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phap-se-khac-ten-72-nu-hoc-gia-xuat-chung-len-thap-eiffel-20250906151353125.htm