Laura Bassi - raising a family
n 1738, Bassi married a fellow scientist Giovanni Giuseppe Veratti despite some objections from the townsfolk. One pamphleteer described it as a "blemish" on her glory; after all, she had accepted the role as the learned virgin, all but married to the university. Actually, marriage was a smart move which made it possible for Bassi to lecture in her home on a regular basis. Prior to this, she was restricted to presenting papers on special occasions such as the Carnival Dissection (shown below). The public was invited to these events, and women were always present in the audience. It would have been unseemly for a young woman to lecture in a room full of men.
Of course this situation was frustrating for Bassi, and in 1739, she petitioned the Senate to expand her teaching duties. Through Scarselli and Lambertini, she acquired equipment for her electrical experiments. She also had to pay for the equipment used in the physics classes in her home. The university was persuaded by her powerful patrons to raise her salary. By 1760, her salary of 1,200 lire was higher than any other science professor at the university or at the Science Institute.
assi's marriage to Veratti also produced 8 children, five of whom survived into adulthood. Her son Paolo became a doctor and a professor of experimental physics at the Institute. In her other children's choice of careers, we see again very strong ties to the church. Her only surviving daughter, Catarina, became a nun. Two of her sons, Giovanni and Giacomo, were canons in the church. Besides raising her children, Bassi managed to find the time, later in her career, to encourage the scientific careers of her cousin Lazzaro Spallanzani and younger scientists like Alessandro Volta.
Graph of Women on Physics Faculty by Country
Feminists have noted that latin countries, in general, seem to make greater allowances for scientists raising families. In Catholic countries like Italy, Brazil, Spain, or Portugal (see chart above), family and children are given more importance. For example, Bassi was allowed to teach at home making it easier to integrate family and career. In Italy today, 23% of the physics professors are women. Women students out-number men in many physics departments. And all PhD candidates take one test, the Concoursi, from which they will be chosen for a university or college position. The only discrimination Italian women encounter is a "glass ceiling" at the top research positions.
Graph of Women in the Astronomical Union
In countries with a Protestant ethic such as the United States, Canada, and Germany, life and careers are organized around work. Men and physicists, in particular, are expected to put in a huge number of hours on the job. Women, on the other hand, are pressured to stay at home and take care of all family responsibilities. Childcare for working mothers is not readily available. Eventhough these countries are the most industrialized, with heavily state-subsidized research, and strong women's rights movements, women represent less than 5% of physics professors.
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