Breaking In: Women's Accounts of How Choices Shape STEM Careers
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Why is it that, while women in the United States have generally made great strides in establishing parity with their male counterparts in educational attainment, they remain substantially underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)? Why is it that, in proportion to the PhDs they obtain in STEM, they attain fewer administrative and managerial positions in academia and industry than their numbers warrant and, moreover, are more likely leave the field once started in their careers? In the culture and context of women's advancement and satisfaction with careers in STEM, the data show that many challenges and obstacles remain. By showcasing the stories of eight women scientists who have achieved successful careers in the academy, industry and government, Breaking In offers vivid insights into the challenges and barriers that women face in entering STEM while also describing these women's motivations, the choices they made along their paths, and the intellectual satisfactions and excitement of scientific discovery they derive from their work. Breaking In underscores issues aspiring women scientists will encounter on their journeys and what they can do to forestall potential obstacles, advocate for change, and fulfill their ambitions. And it speaks to the question: What can be done to encourage more women to specialize in science, mathematics, and engineering? In doctoral granting institutions, where women must start if they hope to earn advanced degrees, Breaking In can serve both as a student text and as guide for department chairs and deans who are concerned about organizational climate and culture and their impact on retention in STEM fields. At a broader level, this book offers advice and inspiration to women contemplating entering STEM fields, as well to the teachers, researchers, and administrators responsible for nurturing these women, growing enrollments in their disciplines, and developing creative and intellectual capital that the nation needs to compete in the global marketplace.
The Madame Curie Complex
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Why are the fields of science and technology still considered to be the preserve of men? This work moves beyond the common explanations to give historical context and unexpected revelations about women's contributions to the sciences. Exploring the lives of Jane Goodall, Rosalind Franklin and the women of the Manhattan Project among many others, Des Jardins considers their personal stories in relation to their male counterparts to demonstrate how the gendered culture of science molds the methods and experience of the work.
Magnificent Minds
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Winner of: National Science Teachers Foundation/Children's Book Council, Outstanding Science Trade Book Award Full of the inspirational stories girls need for exploring a future in science Did you know that Florence Nightingale pioneered the use of statistics in public health? That Marie Curie is still the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in both physics and chemistry--and the only winner whose daughter also won a Nobel Prize? That in the 17th century, the most accomplished scholar in mathematical astronomy was a Polish woman, Maria Cunitz? That the pysicist who first explained nuclear fission was a woman, Lise Meitner?That two of the pioneers of computer science were women, Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper? For centuries, women have risen above their traditional roles to pursue new understanding of the natural world. This book, which grows out of an exhibit at the Grolier Club in New York, introduces the lives, sayings, and dreams of sixteen women over four centuries and chronicles their contributions to mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, computer science, and medicine. Sweeping and inspirational, this book should be read by all girls and young women who share curiosity about the world and the dream of making a difference.
The Sky's the Limit
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They study the night sky, watch chimpanzees in the wild, and dig up ancient clay treasures. They search the beach for rare fossils, photograph old rock carvings, explore the hazards of lead poisoning, and wander into dark caves. And in their watching, digging, and wandering they become discoverers. Young and old, they are women and girls who discover seventy-million-year-old sea lizards, the very origins of counting and writing, Stone Age cave art, mysterious matter in the universe, and howa puddle of water can be sanitized when heated by the sun. Here is a tribute to the findings and revelations of these remarkable women and girls: to their perseverance, their epiphanies, their wondrous curiosity. Brought to life by stunning collage illustrations, these inspiring stories drawn from primary sources consistently probe into still unanswered questions. Here are discoveries that open our eyes not only to what women and girls can accomplish but also to the astonishing world in which we live.
