Professor Marilyn Anderson is glad she was born without the Y chromosome.
Born in Sunshine, raised in Deer Park and educated in St Albans, the Keilor resident and La Trobe University academic says her gender ensured she wasn’t destined for the local chemical factory.
“Most of the people who lived in Deer Park worked for ICI, and their children expected to find employment there when they finished school,” Professor Anderson said.
‘‘I didn’t know any women who stayed in the workforce after they were married, so I had a freedom to study whatever I liked during my education at primary and secondary school as I wasn’t expected to have a career.”
Nearly 50 years after becoming the first in her family to study at university, Professor Anderson was among 20 women added to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in March.
The nomination recognised 35 years’ scientific research in plant biochemistry and genetics, with her work paving the way for worldwide research into disease and insect-resistant crops.
