Anna Batzeli, University of Peloponese, Tripoli
Online Lecture: Thursday, 25 April 2024, 17:30-19:30 (CEST)
Both in Greece and Bulgaria, women’s participation in male-dominated fields, such as engineering, was associated with a number of societal challenges and barriers. Gender roles and stereotypes were deeply ingrained in the society and women were facing barriers in accessing quality education in engineering, as many technical universities and engineering schools either restricted or outright denied admission to them. Maria Luisa Doseva-Georgieva (1894-1975), for example, who was one of the first two women architectural engineers in Bulgaria, was refused admittance at the Technical University of Munich due to her gender. Maria Luisa Doseva-Georgieva was eventually enrolled at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, and obtained her degree on December 1917. Five years later, in 1923, the first woman graduated from the Technical University of Athens in Greece. It was Eleni Kanellopoulou Patrikiou (1901-1980), who had then followed a successful career in her field and became an advocate of women’s rights and their participation in science and in engineering. The following years, the number of women studying engineering gradually increased in both countries. These women, despite the fewer than men career advancement opportunities and the gender pay gap, contributed significantly in their fields, often acting as pioneers. They also paved the path for more women to follow their lead and study engineering.
This paper aims to present the concise history(-ies) of Maria Luisa Doseva-Georgieva, Eleni Kanellopoulou Patrikiou and other notable women engineers in Greece and Bulgaria. The paper will not only present their contributions in engineering, but will also discuss the obstacles these women had to overcome, including the societal expectations which placed a heavy burden on them. As a result, several women abandoned their careers in engineering to fulfill their social role via undertaking household chores and childcare responsibilities. Lastly, the paper aims to discuss the challenge of researching the history of women in engineering, with an emphasis on their underrepresentation in the historical archives.
The event is hosted by the Association of German Engineers, VDI Berlin-Brandenburg.
Please register (without fees) on the homepage of VDI