Microscopes and the Post-War: “Women at Work”

The glamor of the working female geologist was associated visually with the microscope. This chapter examines the history of women working in micropaleontology. Other scholars like Robbie Gries have written about the importance of women advancing micropaleontology in the history of petroleum geology, but this chapter explores the glamour and scientific prowess associated with the image and identity of women working in geology. The image of women working with microscopes becomes a fixture of newspapers profiles of female geologists. Women written about in newspaper profiles and other magazines included their own criticisms of academic training and oil companies, as they felt that women did not receive equal and proper treatment compared to their male peers.