Throughout history, trailblazing women and their groundbreaking innovations have reshaped the healthcare landscape, ensuring better access, knowledge, and care.
In honor of Women’s History Month in March, as well as International Women’s Day on March 8, we’re celebrating the moments that changed the course of healthcare history and continue to impact healthcare today.
Keep reading to learn about the inspiring women and the challenges that they overcame.
1849: The First Woman to Earn a Medical Degree
To start, we’re going all the way back to the 1800s. For centuries, women were excluded from formal medical education, but that didn’t stop Elizabeth Blackwell. She applied to over a dozen medical schools and was only accepted by Geneva Medical College after the all-male student body voted “yes” as a joke.
In 1849, she became the first woman in the U.S. to receive a medical degree — and she accomplished this despite facing numerous obstacles and discrimination, such as being excluded from labs and being forced to sit separately from men during lectures.
Even after she graduated, hospitals didn’t want to hire her and male patients didn’t want to be seen by a woman doctor. Still, she persevered. In 1857, Elizabeth opened the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, teaming up with female colleagues, including her sister (who by this point also became a doctor herself, the 3rd woman in the U.S. with a medical degree — talk about a successful family!). With how difficult Elizabeth’s journey was, she made it a mission to hire capable women at her practice.
Returning to London, England, she established a medical school for women in 1874, called the London School of Medicine for Women.
1947: The First Woman to Win a Nobel Prize in Medicine
When it comes to Nobel Prizes, we’re spotlighting two amazing women. First, let’s start with Gerty Cori, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947, an honor shared with her husband, Carl Cori. Their research on glycogen and how it’s broken down led to a better understanding of diabetes. The metabolic process that converts lactic acid into glucose came to be known as the Cori cycle. But, let’s backtrack a bit to look at Gerty’s early career.
After earning a PhD from the University of Prague’s Medical School in 1920, she and her husband — Carl Cori, a former classmate — moved to the U.S. The two had different but complementary skillsets. As Washington University faculty member William Daughaday described, “Carl was the visionary. Gerty was the lab genius.”
The dynamic duo worked together for over four decades, publishing dozens of research studies. However, Gerty faced many accounts of sexism throughout her career. The director of the State Institute for the Study of Malignant Diseases, where Gerty landed her first job, wanted her to stop working with her husband, accusing her of holding Carl’s career back and not “respecting American values.”
After the pair moved on to Washington University in 1931, the discrimination, unfortunately, continued. Carl immediately received a head position in the department, whereas Gerty was appointed as a research assistant with a much lower salary.
One of the best ways to silence your critics? Win a Nobel Prize. After being awarded, her husband noted that the pair had worked together ever since their university days, and their combined efforts are what drove their success.
1983: The First (Solo) Woman to Win a Nobel Prize in Medicine
Just as impressive is Barbara McClintock, who was the first solo woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Her discovery of “jumping genes” (genetic transposition) revolutionized our understanding of DNA and genetic regulation. Her work laid the foundation for breakthroughs in genetic research, including advancements in understanding hereditary diseases.
Let’s go back to the beginning with a not-so-fun fact. Barbara almost didn’t go to college, despite her many talents. Her mother felt that getting a college degree would make Barbara a less desirable marriage candidate. It was only after her father’s return from the Army Medical Corps that he intervened and supported her decision to enroll in the Cornell College of Agriculture. There, Barbara would go on to earn her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
At Cornell, she took a course that would inspire the rest of her career: genetics. In particular, she was deeply interested in cytogenetics, the study of chromosomes and their genetic expression. Although she became an assistant professor at the University in Missouri in 1936, research was her true passion.
Her findings on the genetic differences in maize went against conventional genetic theory so she initially held back on publishing her work — at least until others confirmed her results. In 1951, she finally shared her research at a symposium, but as she herself puts it, “They thought I was crazy, absolutely mad.” At the time, her research was revolutionary, so far beyond the understanding at the time that scientists in her field ignored her work for over a decade.
It wasn’t until the mid-1960s when other scientists came to the same conclusions that they finally gave Barbara her due. She received the Nobel Prize over three decades after her original discoveries.
1990: The First Female Surgeon General of the U.S.
Last but certainly not least is Antonia Novello who made history in 1990 when she became the first woman and first Hispanic Surgeon General of the United States.
As Surgeon General, Antonia campaigned for the health of women, children, and minorities, understanding that a lack of access to healthcare and underrepresentation can be detrimental. Her campaigns tackled key social issues, including underage drinking and smoking, as well as AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). It was her work on the latter topic that caught the attention of then-President Bush.
The reason why she’s so passionate about healthcare, and what inspired her to become a doctor, stems from her childhood experience. Diagnosed at birth with congenital megacolon, it wasn’t until she was 18 that she received surgery to correct the issue. In an interview, she states:
“I do believe that some people fall through the cracks. I was one of those. I thought, when I grow up, no other person is going to wait 18 years for surgery.”
After graduation, Antonia worked as a pediatrician for a few years at a private practice, but believed the public health field was where she could help promote healthcare to a much broader audience. Here’s an interesting fact: Do you know those health warnings on cigarette packaging? She helped develop them!
The Work Continues
The achievements of these pioneering women remind us of the power of persistence, innovation, and determination. From overcoming barriers in medical education to revolutionizing healthcare research, their contributions have paved the way for generations of women in healthcare.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s essential to reflect on how far we’ve come — but also to recognize the work that still needs to be done. Even after almost 200 years since the first woman earned her medical degree, women still face healthcare inequities, as McKinsey & Company outline in their research.
Only by spreading awareness and speaking about healthcare gaps can we all begin to address healthcare disparities.