By Della Dumbaugh (University of Richmond), Diep Nguyen (student, University of Richmond), and Madeline Polhill (student, University of Richmond)

May 12 marks the birthday of Maryam Mirzakhani, to date the first and only woman to win the Fields Medal, the most prestigious prize in mathematics. Mirzakhani’s short but exceptional life offers inspiration for all women considering their own place in the field.

Though her academic prowess was recognized as a young woman, Mirzakhani displayed an early interest in a career as a writer and was known to read books with voracious enthusiasm. Nevertheless, her rare mathematical gifts were recognized as excellent from a young age, as her classmates recalled her unique ability to solve mathematical problems in a variety of ways. As a young woman in Iran, she and her friend Roya Beheshti became the first women to represent Iran at the competition. She went on to win two gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, Mirzakhani quickly became a role model for other Iranian girls interested in mathematics.

In 2014, Mirzakhani became the first female recipient of the coveted Fields Medal, which was established in 1897, for her work on the geometry and dynamics of Riemann surfaces. This historic moment was celebrated by many mathematicians around the world. Mirzakhani’s works have gone on to inspire many female mathematicians who are consistently challenged by the gender gap and systemic obstacles to pursue their careers. Passionately and actively invested in her mathematical work until the end of her life, Mirzakhani died of breast cancer at the age of 40 in 2017. Mirzakhani’s impact, however, will continue to inspire many women in mathematics for years to come. 

In June 2018, in memory of Maryam Mirzakhani, the Women’s Committee of the Iranian Mathematical Society proposed to dedicate May 12, Mirzakhani’s birthday, as a day of international recognition of women in mathematics. Attendees at the inaugural meeting of the World Meeting for Women in Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro that year enthusiastically approved the proposal.

This well-received proposal sparked a global movement and led to the organization of more than a hundred projects around the world, supported by the European Women in Mathematics, the Indian Women and Mathematics, the African Women in Mathematics Association, and many other international organizations. This clear and rapid enthusiasm reflects the commitment within the mathematical community to recognize and honor the work of women in the field, especially in light of the historical marginalization of these contributions. At its core, International Women in Mathematics Day serves as both a celebration and recognition of women’s contributions to mathematics as well as an opportunity to promote inclusivity in a community that remains predominantly male. In addition to the celebratory aspect of International Women in Mathematics Day, the day aims to draw awareness to the specific challenges faced by women mathematicians, such as the persistent gender gap in STEM fields and the challenges of succeeding in academia while raising a family.

In particular, in celebration of International Women in Mathematics Day 2021, open access to the film Picture a Scientist will be available to the public from May 12-14. This film chronicles the lives of women scientists and highlights the effects of insidious and unrelenting acts of discrimination on their careers. Although the film focuses on biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Rachelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring, it also calls attention to other celebrated scientists and draws from broader research in gender discrimination in the sciences.

The film’s award-winning directors Ian Cheney (The City Dark, The Search for General Tso, The Most Unknown) and Sharon Shattuck (From This Day Forward, Animated Life Series) created a deeply personal film that documents both the difficulties caused by discrimination and the personal anguish in coming forward to try to enact change. 

The film reveals how the seemingly innocuous statement — “I want to be a scientist when I grow up” — by Jane Willenbring’s young daughter prompted her to finally take action against heinous behavior by her advisor that had occurred over a decade before. 

Nancy Hopkins ventured back to the Biology building at MIT in the evenings to measure the lab size of her male colleagues so she could prepare a map of the disparity in physical space. This diagram provided irrefutable evidence to the Dean that her assigned lab occupied only 50% of the size allocated to her male colleagues. In this process, she also noted the time and energy involved to claim this space that took away from her time to devote to science.

Raychelle Burks calls attention to the moment when a parking attendant flagged her down to tell her the lot was reserved for faculty implying that she, as a woman of color, did not belong. She describes how this moment discounted her value from the start of the day.

Even still, all three women shared the same mission and mantra, perhaps without realizing it. In each of their own situations, facing different but similar challenging circumstances, they each asserted that “I just kept working.” On the one hand, this focus meant that they endured unacceptable behavior simply to achieve their dream of being a scientist. On the other hand, this aim to be a scientist allowed them to carry on and persevere. Even more, it ties these women and their passion to Mirzakhani and her commitment to “just keep working” through her illness. Taken together, their stories link together with those of other women — past and present — to forge the beginning of the International Women in Mathematics Day celebration.

But you can see for yourself. 

You can view the trailer for Picture a Scientist here: View trailer.

By May 6, you can register to obtain a link for an individual screening of the documentary between May 12-14.

Register here.