Além dos números : um breve olhar sobre a presença feminina na Matemática

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to present some of the historical, social and cultural challenges faced by women in the scientific and, mainly, mathematical fields. The same unfolds over a bibliographical research, also presenting a biography of ten female mathematicians, with the aim of investigating the factors that led to the female presence in mathematics being, in a certain way, overshadowed. During the development of the theme, it was possible to observe that women encountered many obstacles when they decided to enter our mathematical studies, whether accessible or proving their capabilities. They were prevented, for a long time, not only from studying or producing scientific knowledge, but also from contributing to the dissemination of this knowledge, as academic institutions did not accept women as faculty, a scenario that only began to change, minimally, from from the 19th century. Studying the history of science and, mainly, mathematics, for example, can be a strong ally in understanding how the development of mathematical knowledge that we currently have took place, as well as reinforcing why the presence of women in mathematics is so scarce, this is because there are still remnants of discourses that show that women are not given to rationality, with values related to the emotional and sensitive side of life being attributed to them, which would be incompatible with reasoning belonging to the mathematical field.