Symbol

In our logo you can see three important women in science: Rosalind Franklin, Katherine Johnson, and Emmy Noether. Each of these women faced obstacles to the acceptance and properly credited dissemination of their scientific work due to their gender and race. Despite the variety of appearances assumed by sexism, the red sun shedding light on them projects only one shadow, representing the commonalities amongst women’s conditions in the scientific world and in society. The shadow symbolizes all women who have been or are currently overlooked, ignored, deprived of their intellectually property or forgotten entirely. The single shadow also represents the unity of women in fighting together against oppression.

The shadow is an art project by Iris Andraschek, located in the Arkadenhof of the University of Vienna (http://www.dermusereichts.at), which highlights the failure to adequately recognize, on an equal basis, the achievements of women at the University of Vienna and in science. This symbol contrasts with the busts of eminent figures, all men, surrounding the courtyard.