Edits to Vera Rubin’s Biography Downplay the Need for Women in Science Amid Federal DEI Crackdown

It’s been less than a month since President Donald Trump declared war on diversity and inclusion at federal agencies. NASA was ordered earlier this month to scrub its sites of “anything specifically targeting women (women in leadership, etc.)” and now an important telescope project has edited its biography of astronomer Vera Rubin to remove information about increasing the number of women in scientific careers.

The Rubin Observatory, a federally funded telescope on a mountaintop in Chile, recently altered the online biography of the astronomer it’s named after, omitting information related to women breaking barriers in the field, ProPublica first reported.

Vera Rubin’s work helped prove the existence of dark matter in the cosmos, shifting the way scientists study the universe in the 1970s. She published more than 100 scientific papers and carried out groundbreaking research on spiral galaxies and galaxy rotation. Beyond that, she advocated for women in science after having to overcome several obstacles throughout her career due to astronomy being a male-dominated field.

For her contributions to science, Rubin has a ridge on Mars named after her, as well as an asteroid, a satellite, a galaxy, and the National Science Foundation’s Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The national observatory is the first to be named after a woman, and was—ironically—signed off on by Trump during his first term. Shortly after Trump was inaugurated a second time, however, Rubin’s biography was slashed to offer a watered down version of her struggles as a woman in the field.

In the original version, a lengthy section titled “She advocated for women in science” spoke of Rubin’s efforts to break through barriers in a male-dominated field. The entire section was initially removed, but then reappeared with some major adjustments, according to ProPublica.

“Science is still a male-dominated field, but Rubin Observatory is working to increase participation from women and other people who have historically been excluded from science,” the observatory’s website previously read. “Rubin Observatory welcomes everyone who wants to contribute to science, and takes steps to lower or eliminate barriers that exclude those with less privilege.”

That paragraph, however, was removed in late January, in addition to a slight tweak. Instead of, “Vera herself offers an excellent example of what can happen when more minds participate in science,” the website now reads, “Vera Rubin offers an excellent example of what can happen when many minds participate in science.”

The revisions reveal what is and isn’t allowed under the new orders, and how recognizing discrimination or the need for diversity is now strictly forbidden. NASA is following similar orders; the space agency sent out a memo in late January ordering employees to remove certain terms from its public websites, including underrepresented groups, women in leadership, environmental justice, and accessibility.

Several groups from the astronomy community are currently working to maintain an archive of the content that’s been removed from federal websites, in addition to content that’s at risk of being removed, according to Space.com. “The idea that they can somehow obliterate these sources is dead wrong—scientists in general and astronomers in particular are not going to take these threats lying down,” astronomer John Barentine told Space.com. “But we have a long road ahead and I expect there’ll be times when that road will be very difficult to walk.”

Once established, Rubin used her position to open doors for women in science and become a mentor for the next generation. While addressing the 1996 Berkeley graduating class, Rubin said, “I hope that you will fight injustice and discrimination in all its guises. I hope you will value diversity among your friends, among your colleagues… among the student body population. I hope that when you are in charge, you will do better than my generation has.”