Serving as both an autobiography and primer on women in science, this book provides great insight into the experiences of women in male-dominated STEM fields. The blending of narrative with research to back up the anecdotes make this book as informative as it is enjoyable. Colwell doesn’t shy away from getting deep into the science, and those details enrich the storytelling greatly.
While the book highlights the efforts of the women who came before us, and how much better it is for women in STEM fields now (thanks ever so much to their efforts), much of it feels just the same. I was caught up in the 1990’s groundswell of support for women in STEM, yet I had many of the same experiences as the women who entered the field in the 1950s. This phenomenon is, sadly, not unique nor eradicated.
That said, the final part of the book gets into real solutions for the issue. Discussing what can be done on personal and institutional levels to continue breaking down sexism (and all the other “isms” that plague STEM) this section provides a solid framework for moving forward. These solutions are also presented as work that needs to be done by everyone, making it clear that the issue is not that women and minorities aren't doing enough, but that the current structures are doing too little.
This book is a must read for anyone in STEM, though perhaps especially for those who have most benefited from the existing gate keeping.
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