Vox Meditantis

Tapputi-Belatekallim, the world’s first recorded chemist, pioneered distillation and perfume-making in ancient Babylon. Her achievements, long buried by historical bias, reveal how women’s scientific contributions have been systematically overlooked. Her rediscovery challenges us to recognise and celebrate the forgotten women who shaped science from its very beginnings.

Inge Lehmann’s discovery of Earth’s inner core revolutionised geophysics, yet she remains overlooked – her genius stifled by relentless gender bias. This article celebrates her resilience, exposing how discrimination forced her into seismology and nearly erased her achievements, while her legacy endures as a beacon for overlooked women in STEM.

Mary Styles Harris (born 1949) was a pioneering geneticist who revolutionised public health communication by translating complex genetic research into accessible education for African-American communities. Her groundbreaking work on sickle cell disease awareness and genetic screening has been unjustly overlooked because she consistently prioritised meaningful community impact over laboratory acclaim.