Eiffel Tower to honour 72 women scholars to ensure gender parity

The Paris City Council wants to adorn the Eiffel Tower with a frieze bearing the names of 72 female scientists, alongside the 72 names of male scientists that Gustave Eiffel had inscribed on the Iron Lady more than 130 years ago. Photo: AFP

Gustave Eiffel, who designed France's world-famous monument, had the names of 72 scholars inscribed on the base of the tower in golden letters. All of them men.

More than 130 years later, Paris authorities are seeking to right a historic wrong by adding the names of 72 illustrious women.