Women Changing Science [Hardcover]

Mary Morse (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 030645081X | ISBN-13: 978-0306450815 | Publication Date: August 21, 1995 | Edition: 1

Women Changing Science: Voices from a Field in Transition explores the experiences of today's women in the natural and physical sciences. In interviews with women at all stages of their scientific careers, Ms. Mary Morse, a frequent contributor to Utne Reader magazine and a community activist, unearths a picture of science that rarely sees print: a field in upheaval, with female and male scientists doing their best to survive in rapidly shifting social and professional climates. Read the honest appraisals of the extraordinary women who are determined to define a new scientific culture. Step into a woman-owned engineering firm where employees are encouraged to bring their infants to work. Hear why a young female physician would jettison the entire residency process to foster safer, saner, and more effective medical training. Learn how a group of established women scientists and science policy makers succeeded, and about their predictions for women's impact on the field. The author and her subjects present meaningful solutions to the current dilemmas faced by scientists, including ways to redesign the scientific culture and workplace to foster success for women, men, and the scientific enterprise. Bound to spark a dialogue about how women will shape the future of western science, this book is eye-opening reading for anyone with an interest in the field. In an era when women are being encouraged to enter the sciences as never before, Women Changing Science sounds a warning to science students, science teachers, parents, legislators, health science educators, business people, and university administrators.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Morse is a community activist and freelance writer. She is a regular contributor to the Utne Reader Magazine. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and child. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 291 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (August 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030645081X
• ISBN-13: 978-0306450815
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,357,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read if you are a women in science or care about them., June 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Women Changing Science (Hardcover)

When I first stumbled across this title, I was a little skeptical. So many such books are just glorified *itch sessions in which those who are struggling complain about being opressed. NOT SO! Mary Morse uses her perspective as both scientist and writer to turn anicdote into a balanced and inclusive discussion of the issues facing scientific women today. Morse doesn't claim to have done scientific surveys or comprehensive research, but she does talk to people who are struggling with the spectrum of issues facing women who have chosen science as a career. She looks at all of the major issues that affect us--how we are trained, scientific culture, work vs. family--and using the words of women and men who do science, she lays out the multi-wavelength spectrum of thought on where women are and where they want to be. There is a lot of discussion in the fields today about "women's issues" in science. This book will do well to inform the discussion that we, as professionals, need to have. It will also help scientists in training see what lays ahead. I plan to use it as discussion fodder in the classroom, and I hope more people do! --Nan Crystal Arens, Assistant Professor, Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley

5.0 out of 5 stars women's place is in math and science, March 27, 2008

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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Women Changing Science: Voices From A Field In Transition (Paperback)

I only recently discovered this book when I found that my past National Science Foundation grant was mentioned in the book. My grant was about women in math and science because those are not areas in which girls are encouraged to pursue careers. I am glad that Ms. Morse's book is here to make both women and men, boys and girls, aware of the need to bring women into the world of math and science. Her book informs the reader of the status of women in an important career area and gives insight into the experiences of women who have followed that path. Perhaps Ms. Morse will revise her book and bring us a new edition.