Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)

This book investigates how women have striven throughout history to gain access to education and careers in science and engineering. Author Monique Frize, herself an engineer for over 40 years, focuses on the history of women's education in mathematics and science through the ages, from antiquity to the Enlightenment. The book examines the lives and work of three women - Sophie Germain, Mileva Einstein, and Rosalind Franklin - that provide excellent examples of how women's contributions to science have been dismissed, ignored or stolen outright. She concludes with an in-depth look at women's participation in science and engineering throughout the twentieth century and the current status of women in science and engineering, which has experienced a decline in recent years.

PRAISE FOR THE MENTEE'S GUIDE "The Mentee's Guide inspires and guides the potential mentee, provides new insights for the adventure in learning that lies ahead, and underscores my personal belief and experience that mentoring is circular. The mentor gains as much as the mentee in this evocative relationship. Lois Zachary's new book is a great gift." --Frances Hesselbein, chairman and founding president, Leader to Leader Institute "Whether you are the mentee or mentor, born or made for the role, you will gain much more from the relationship by practicing the fun and easy A-to-Z principles of The Mentee's Guide by the master of excellence, Lois Zachary." --Ken Shelton, editor, Leadership Excellence

Why do so few women occupy positions of power and prestige? Virginia Valian uses concepts and data from psychology, sociology, economics, and biology to explain the disparity in the professional advancement of men and women. According to Valian, men and women alike have implicit hypotheses about gender differences - gender schemas - that create small sex differences in characteristics, behaviours, perceptions, and evaluations of men and women. These small imbalances accumulate to advantage men and disadvantage women. The most important consequence of gender schemas for professional life is that men tend to be overrated and women underrated.

The experience of an untenured faculty member is highly dependent on the quality of the mentoring they receive. This mentoring may come from a number of different sources, and the concept of developing a constellation of mentors is highly recommended, but a mentoring relationship that is guided by the mentee's needs will be the most productive. Often, however, the mentee does not know their own needs, what questions to ask, and what topics they should discuss with a mentor. This book provides a guide to the mentoring process for untenured faculty. Perspectives are provided and questions posed on topics ranging from establishing scholarly expertise and developing professional networks to personal health and balancing responsibilities. The questions posed are not intended for the mentee to answer in isolation, rather a junior faculty member should approach these questions throughout their untenured years with the help of their mentors.

This timely text examines the places where technology and society intersect, connecting the reality of our technological age to issues of social networks, communication, work, power, and inequality. The result is a comprehensive overview of the technological tools we use, where they come from, andhow they are changing our perceptions of ourselves and the relationships we form.

A study exploring the links between feminism, co-operatism and technology. It considers the women's and co-operative movements and the attitudes toward technology within both. A case study of the Mondragon co-operatives and the potential for a feminist co-operative in the USA are discussed.

This book explores reproductive, household, and office technology in order to challenge popular notions of technology as progressive for women. It argues that technology gives its benefits differentially, depending on such critical social issues as race, gender, and class. Topics in this provocative analysis include the social construction of technology, the status of women, reproductive technology, office technology, household technology, the myth of progress, and implications for social change.

Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias, in time, money, and often with their lives. Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women, diving into women's lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor's office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world.

Gender equality is a moral and a business imperative. But unconscious bias holds us back, and de-biasing people's minds has proven to be difficult and expensive. Diversity training programs have had limited success, and individual effort alone often invites backlash. Behavioral design offers a new solution. By de-biasing organizations instead of individuals, we can make smart changes that have big impacts. Presenting research-based solutions, Iris Bohnet hands us the tools we need to move the needle in classrooms and boardrooms, in hiring and promotion, benefiting businesses, governments, and the lives of millions. What Works is built on new insights into the human mind. It draws on data collected by companies, universities, and governments in Australia, India, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, and other countries, often in randomized controlled trials. It points out dozens of evidence-based interventions that could be adopted right now and demonstrates how research is addressing gender bias, improving lives and performance.

In 100 Canadian Heroines you'll meet remarkable women in science, sport, preaching and teaching, politics, war and peace, arts and entertainment, etc. The book is full of amazing facts and fascinating trivia about intriguing figures. Discover some of the many heroines Canada can be proud of. Find out how we're remembering them. Or not! Augmented by great quotes and photos, this inspiring collection profiles remarkable women -- heroines in science, sport, preaching and teaching, politics, war and peace, arts and entertainment, and more.

This book provides an exploration of the impact of technology on women's lives. The technology considered includes word processors, food processors, genetic engineering and buildings. The book surveys sociological and feminist literature on technology, and argues that there is an in-built male bias in the way technology is designed and defined.

This is the first book to address the status of Canadian women in the sciences from a historical and contemporary perspective. Essays on women in medicine, sociology, pharmacy and the natural sciences provide insights about our pioneer women scientists. Contemporary concerns are examined such as the career goals of female science students, gender separatism, and feminist research into genetic hazards in the workplace.

For decades, women who studied or worked in engineering were popularly perceived as oddities, outcasts, unfeminine (or inappropriately feminine in a male world). In Girls Coming to Tech!, Amy Bix tells the story of how women gained entrance to the traditionally male field of engineering in American higher education. As Bix explains, a few women breached the gender-reinforced boundaries of engineering education before World War II. During World War II, government, employers, and colleges actively recruited women to train as engineering aides, channeling them directly into defense work. These wartime training programs set the stage for more engineering schools to open their doors to women. In the 1950s, women made up less than one percent of students in American engineering programs; in 2010 and 2011, women earned 18.4% of bachelor's degrees, 22.6% of master's degrees, and 21.8% of doctorates in engineering. Bix's account shows why these gains were hard won.

The third volume of Margaret W. Rossiter's landmark survey of the history of American women scientists focuses on their pioneering efforts and contributions from 1972 to the present. Central to this story are the struggles and successes of women scientists in the era of affirmative action. Scores of previously isolated women scientists were suddenly energized to do things they had rarely, if ever, done before--form organizations and recruit new members, start rosters and projects, put out newsletters, confront authorities, and even fight (and win) lawsuits. Rossiter follows the major activities of these groups in several fields and their campaigns to raise consciousness, see legislation enforced, lobby for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and serve as watchdogs of the media. This comprehensive volume also covers the changing employment circumstances in the federal government, academia, industry, and the nonprofit sector and discusses contemporary battles to increase the number of women members of the National Academy of Science and women presidents of scientific societies.

In her memoirs, esteemed biomedical engineer Monique Frize recalls the events that taught her to over-come obstacles, become more resilient, recognize the importance of mentors and role models, and remain focused on the future. She also speaks of her appreciation of the critical role played by family and friends in maintaining the strength and determination required to succeed--and, above all, to succeed in a man's world. Frize fondly remembers her youth in Montréal and in Ottawa, as well as her marked interest for math and science. She pursued a challenging and rewarding international career in a very specialized field at a time when this was still very uncommon for a woman, acceding at the very moment of the tragic École Polytechnique massacre to key positions in support of women in science. These memoirs are sure to inspire young women who have a dream, and more specifically those who wish to enter sciences and engineering.

This book explores reproductive, household, and office technology in order to challenge popular notions of technology as progressive for women. It argues that technology gives its benefits differentially, depending on such critical social issues as race, gender, and class. Topics in this provocative analysis include the social construction of technology, the status of women, reproductive technology, office technology, household technology, the myth of progress, and implications for social change. A provocative read for anyone interested in women's issues with regard to household, workplace, and reproductive technological breakthroughs.

A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine results and algorithms Run a Google search for "black girls"--what will you find? "Big Booty" and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in "white girls," the results are radically different. The author challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color. Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online.

A powerful investigative look at data-based discrimination--and how technology affects civil and human rights and economic equity. Since the dawn of the digital age, decision-making in finance, employment, politics, health and human services has undergone revolutionary change. Today, automated systems--rather than humans--control which neighborhoods get policed, which families attain needed resources, and who is investigated for fraud. While we all live under this new regime of data, the most invasive and punitive systems are aimed at the poor. The author systematically investigates the impacts of data mining, policy algorithms, and predictive risk models on poor and working-class people in America.

A former Wall Street giant sounds the alarm on Big Data and the mathematical models that threaten to rip apart our social fabric--with a new afterword. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives--where we go to school, whether we can get a job or a loan, how much we pay for health insurance--are being made not by humans, but by machines. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules. But as mathematician and data scientist Cathy O'Neil reveals, the mathematical models being used today are unregulated and uncontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination--propping up the lucky, punishing the downtrodden, and undermining our democracy in the process. Welcome to the dark side of Big Data.