Has Feminism Changed Science?

Over the past two decades, there has been increased attention to the number of women in historically male-dominated scientific fields. Yet even as some in academia and government strive to expand opportunities for women in science, progress has been sluggish, eliciting theories about the cause that range from the biological to the cultural. In this important assessment of the topic, Schiebinger (The Mind Has No Sex?), a professor of the history of science at Pennsylvania State University, explores the history of women in science as well as the role gender has played in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Compelling and well researched, this history not only debunks many popular mythssuch as that women are better at soft sciencebut also provides a useful backdrop for Schiebingers next argument: that women have already changed the way that science itself is studied. Citing evidence from biology, medicine and anthropology, Schiebinger is persuasive and articulate in her argument, and honestly discusses the difficulty in accurately assessing the current situation because of the cultural, racial and social differences among the women she notes. What they do have in common, she says, are obstacles that keep them from getting tenure, raising a family painlessly and advancing as quickly as men in their chosen fields. In a hopeful and insightful finish, she suggests realistic changes for science, such as a reconsideration of sciences definitions, that would correct many imbalances and sweep away the cobwebs of sciences gender biases. (May)