Women Breaking Ground: Clara Flores-Covarrubias (1906-1999) and María Luisa Robles-Ramos (1912-1991), trailblazers of Micropaleontology in Mexico

The 20th century oil boom demanded trained personnel and the application of new subsurface geology techniques; Mexico proved to be no exception since it was one of the main oil producers globally, and one the first countries where micropaleontology was used to improve the economy of exploration. Clara Flores-Covarrubias (1906-1999) and María Luisa Robles-Ramos (1912-1991), paleontologists and trailblazers in foraminifera study, a substantial biostratigraphic tool used to solve oil-exploration problems, developed their scientific practice in the early 1930s in the first Office of Micropaleontology established in Mexico which was affiliated with the Institute of Geology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, for its Spanish initials). Owing to the strategic relevance of this office, the Paleontology Laboratory fell under the responsibility of the Exploration Department of Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), a parastatal company created to promote economic development through oil exploration, exploitation and commercialization. Afterwards, in 1965 these female trailblazers founded the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) which operated as PEMEX technological branch. This paper aims to highlight their socio-professional trajectories and contributions to the discipline, seeking to bring to light the pioneering work of women who broke new ground. Despite their significant roles, they have been little known and under-recognized-left in the shadows of the narratives of the history of science, as many other women have.