Subtitled: The Challenges Facing Women in Science and Technology, by Linley Erin Hall
The majority of Hall's book is spent focusing on women in Post Doc/graduate programs in the "hard" sciences (physics, chemistry, engineering) and covers their struggles to prevail in an area that is often not suited for them for various reasons, ranging from innate differences in how men and women learn, to "good ol' boys club" to work/life balance with children and overt sexism. She also covers other sciences (biology, computer science, social sciences), undergraduate programs, and emerging areas such as biotechnology. She interviews women and seeks to understand why they succeed, or why they leave the sciences to pursue other interests.
I found this book to be a fast and interesting read. It is not too "in your face", as it seeks to understand all sides of the story. The last chapters are on how to encourage women to go into science. In 8th grade, I attended a "women in math and science" day at my future university, UC Irvine, and decided on the spot that I would attend that university, so I can speak to the importance of programs such as these, and mentors to go along with them. Having a science degree from a med-school focused university and a career in biotechnology, I found all too often, things that I could relate to in the book... and many were very positive.
Lisa Trent
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