Synopsis: This book is an analysis of womens participation in American science, It examines major and minor women in science, education and employment patterns, womens achievements in science, and the type of recognition given and withheld to women, In general, this is a history of an occupational group whose status has risen and fallen over time, A second volume will cover the postyears,
B. Why did women have a subordinate, invisible place in science
, Women have traditionally had a subordinate place in science, The result has been that they have been hidden from historians, This resulted from an intentional camouflage placed over the contributions of women in the lateth, This invisibility was related to two trends in US history fromto: the increase in the number of middleclass women attending higher education and the growth, bureaucratization, and “professionalization” of science and technology in America.
These educated women were expected to participate in emotional, soft, noncompetitive, nurturing, “womanly” behavior, The new science was seen as competitive, rational, impersonal, masculine, and unemotional, Thus, a “woman scientist” was an oxymoron, a contradiction, and therefore was unlikely to exist,
C. Chronology of the emergence of women and the emergence of science
, There were three general periods: the first beforethe second fromtoand finally after, Of these, the period fromtois the most important for it was then that acceptable conditions for womens presence in science was worked out, This chronology does not fit with traditional history economic, presidential or even the history of science revolutions, Instead, it is based upon social opportunities from women, Beforethey were achieved gains in the scientific workplace, Afterthe workplace became more rigid and the women were less able to gain new ground,
D. Education, employment, and recognition
, Neither higher education nor good work did not necessarily lead to jobs, Outstanding women were rarely recognized and even if they were it was only in their obituaries, The main point is that universities became far more willing to educate women in science than to employ them or grant them any recognition,
. Pre. Education was considered important because women would be raising sons and an intelligent mother would provide a better background for the child, Beforewomen who went to college spent their free time doing religious work, social philanthropy, reading circles, and very limited scientific clubs,
Women changed their freetime activities to include museum work, observatories, and scientific organizations, This resulted in a major confrontation by the men, The “professionalization” of science can then be seen as a reaction against the feminist incursion into their work, Women were only allowed to hold lower, subordinate positions,
. After. Women had thus opened the doors of science but had great difficulty stepping
into the room, Some of the more extraordinary women developed a great many strategies to overcome this situation, One was by taking an idealistic position against all work stereotypes, They argued for full equality and wrote letters documenting unfair work practices, The greatest triumph here was by Christine LaddFranklin who opened graduate schools to women and allowed them to attain the same doctorates as men, A second strategy was more conservative, This was an acceptance of the stereotyped roles but using them as establishing areas of women work, They argued that women had unique skills that qualified them for particular tasks,
. Bythe first strategy had failed and the second strategy took hold, Despite the thousands of women employed in scientific jobs, this growth was achieved at the price of segregated employment and underrecognition,
Extremely interesting subject matter, and full of fascinating anecdotes, but also so chock full of dates and statistics that it feels sort of like reading a textbook, so it's a bit hard to get through.
And every time I tried skimming for the good bits I ended missing something crucial and having to go back, Maybe I just need to improve my speedreading skills, Anyhow, it still gets three because I think it's an interesting and important book, and I'd very much like to finish it one day, I just don't have the time for it right now.
In volume one of this landmark study, focusing on developments up to, Margaret Rossiter describes the activities and personalities of the numerous women scientistsastronomers, chemists, biologists, and psychologistswho overcame extraordinary obstacles to contribute to the growth of American science.
This remarkable history recounts women's efforts to establish themselves as members of the scientific community and examines the forces that inhibited their active and visible participation in the sciences, .