As a kid in the 70s and 80s, I was enraptured by the stories and films Jacques Cousteau, all the marine articles in National Geographic magazine, as well as a gorgeous picture book about underwater archaeology. It wasn’t till years later than I realized that the majority of people I saw doing the work of oceanography and marine biology were men, specifically white men, and what that meant for me and the rest of us.
As I followed my interest in Humpbacks into learning about cetaceans, sharks, so many other cool creatures, and the rest of the ocean, I started looking for the women who were today’s marine biologist. As you can imagine, I had trouble finding them.
In 2025 women make up about 34% of positions in STEM fields, and 39% in marine biology. Black women make up less than half those numbers. And the number of women With the funding and support to study marine mammals is even smaller. This reality inspired me to research the fascinating and remarkable women who have, and continue to expand our knowledge of, and access to, our oceans and their inhabitants.
Most of the articles posted here were originally posted in the Whale Tales and Glitter newsletter, with the occasional additional notes and thoughts that probably wouldn’t fit in the format of the newsletter.
I have a growing list of amazing women and nonbinary marine-related scientist to spotlight but I always want to know more! If you have names of folx I haven’t mentioned yet, please drop me a note and I’ll add them to the list.
Katy Payne does not have a doctorate or much in the way of papers with her name on them but her curiosity and early love of music lead to monumental breakthroughs in our understand of whale song and elephant communication. …
Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields’ name has come up many times when researching Black women in Marine Science. I don’t immediately think of military officers also being scientists, but many of them are, if not directly, then in support positions that…
I first learned about Mary Anning on a trip to the National History Museum, London, UK in Sept of 2024. One flight up from the Blue whale skeleton hanging in the grand entryway, is this gorgeous, wall mounted Plesiosaurus skeleton…
Often called the mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean, Professor Idelisa Bonnelly might be one of the most important women in Humpback whale research. Between getting her own marine biology degrees in the United States, because her home country…
Known by many as “Her Deepness”, Dr. Sylvia Earle is still championing the oceans at 89. Her list of accomplishments is long. Among them she holds the record for the deepest untethered dive in a JIM suit (one of the…
From a young age Dr. Owens had a deep love of the oceans. Her parents would take her and her two sisters fishing on the weekends and both encouraged their daughters to pursue higher education. Reading about both Jacques Cousteau…
Last year my family and I had the opportunity to attend the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute‘s (MBAR) Open House in Moss Landing, CA. The event was set up beside their research boat The R/V Rachel Carson. I knew the…
This month’s Spotlight is one of the first women we know of in modern days to work in marine biology, Dr. Roger Arliner Young. Born in 1899 Dr. Young attended Howard University first as a music student and later taking…
While reading many great articles about #BlackExcellence this month I thought about how I might contribute to the conversation, if at all. I finally settled on doing some research on one of my favorite topics: Marine Biology. Specifically, I was…
