January 31, 1963 — Marymount College, Tarrytown NY

There [is] a great deal of discussion of whether the United States should have women astronauts, and I am frequently asked for my own opinion on this subject. Frankly, it makes little difference to me. I believe that there will be women astronauts some time just as there are women airplane pilots, but there are so many other ways that women can contribute importantly to the space program that the fact there are no women astronauts as yet should not worry us. After all there are thousands of men in the space program who are not astronauts either, all of whom are contributing importantly to the success of the manned flight program.

Moreover, I should emphasize that as badly as we need scientists and engineers, we also need educated women as well as men in other fields and no one, man or woman, should to into science simply because of its glamour . . .

The space program, the country and the world need young people who have been trained to think logically and clearly regardless of the area in which they have specialized.

Source: “The Role of Women Scientists in the Space Program,” speech at Marymount College, Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson, January 31, 1963, MC 575, Box 160, Folder 2036.