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Lessons Learned: Stories from Women Leaders in STEM
"Lessons Learned brings us the stories of thirty-one brilliant women in STEM who overcame the odds to push science forward while paving the way for the women yet to come. Uplifting, informative, and important."
—Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
Women in this country have made great strides in terms of education. In fact, their educational attainment has outpaced men’s. However, the story is different when it comes to STEM.
While women make up 48% of the workforce, when it comes to the so-called STEM fields, women hold only about 29% of positions in these specialties, with the majority in the biological and life sciences.
There is no evidence that girls and women are not interested in STEM fields. However, research does suggest that cultural attitudes, including implicit and explicit biases, discourage women from entering computer science, engineering, mathematics, and physics in particular.
One of the ways to increase that participation is to have role models who will inspire young women to consider STEM careers.
Lessons Stories From Women Leaders in STEM, published by the American Association for Physician Leadership and edited by Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA, addresses the lack of women in STEM careers through the first-person accounts of notable women who have excelled in a range of STEM-related leadership roles.
“Role models matter,” says Sheryl Sandberg, founder of LeanIn.org and former COO of Meta (Facebook). “In Lessons Learned, Deborah Shlian introduces us to more than 30 extraordinary women who've pushed past gender bias to expand perceptions of what it means to lead in STEM. This book will inspire so many other women and girls to reach for their goals.”
The women in this book are leaders in many different STEM disciplines and in many different sectors, including academia, industry, and government institutions like the FDA and NIH. They are intentionally a diverse group not only by areas of STEM, but also by age (some are at or near the end of their careers, some are mid-career, and some are just beginning), by geography (from East, to Midwest, to West), and by ethnicity (Native American, Latina, Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Caucasian). Each contributor has shared her personal career journey – including the barriers and challenges faced along the way.
The hope is that young readers (especially girls) will find these stories so inspiring that they will consider a STEM career, and those already enrolled in STEM PhD programs will aim to become leaders within their field.
The book’s contributors represent a who’s who of women in C. Alocilja, PhDCecilia Aragon, PhDGilda A. Barabino, PhDLisa D. Chong, PhDDaphney R. Chery, PhDRita R. Colwell, PhD, DScThe Honorable France A. Cordova, PhDCatie Cuan, PhD candidateMargaret Dayhoff-Brannigan, PhDClaire M. Fraser, PhDOlivia L. George, PhDKorie Grayson, PhDMalika Grayson, PhDJudith Greenberg, PhDRonna Hertzano, MD, PhDAishwarya Iyer, MD/PhD student/candidateMaria Klawe, PhDKristin E. Lauter, PhDCathleen (Cat) Lutz, PhDMarcia McNutt, PhDEstelle Russek-Cohen, PhDIda Sim, MD, PhDBarbara Simons, PhDTatiana Toro, PhD
—Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
Women in this country have made great strides in terms of education. In fact, their educational attainment has outpaced men’s. However, the story is different when it comes to STEM.
While women make up 48% of the workforce, when it comes to the so-called STEM fields, women hold only about 29% of positions in these specialties, with the majority in the biological and life sciences.
There is no evidence that girls and women are not interested in STEM fields. However, research does suggest that cultural attitudes, including implicit and explicit biases, discourage women from entering computer science, engineering, mathematics, and physics in particular.
One of the ways to increase that participation is to have role models who will inspire young women to consider STEM careers.
Lessons Stories From Women Leaders in STEM, published by the American Association for Physician Leadership and edited by Deborah M. Shlian, MD, MBA, addresses the lack of women in STEM careers through the first-person accounts of notable women who have excelled in a range of STEM-related leadership roles.
“Role models matter,” says Sheryl Sandberg, founder of LeanIn.org and former COO of Meta (Facebook). “In Lessons Learned, Deborah Shlian introduces us to more than 30 extraordinary women who've pushed past gender bias to expand perceptions of what it means to lead in STEM. This book will inspire so many other women and girls to reach for their goals.”
The women in this book are leaders in many different STEM disciplines and in many different sectors, including academia, industry, and government institutions like the FDA and NIH. They are intentionally a diverse group not only by areas of STEM, but also by age (some are at or near the end of their careers, some are mid-career, and some are just beginning), by geography (from East, to Midwest, to West), and by ethnicity (Native American, Latina, Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Caucasian). Each contributor has shared her personal career journey – including the barriers and challenges faced along the way.
The hope is that young readers (especially girls) will find these stories so inspiring that they will consider a STEM career, and those already enrolled in STEM PhD programs will aim to become leaders within their field.
The book’s contributors represent a who’s who of women in C. Alocilja, PhDCecilia Aragon, PhDGilda A. Barabino, PhDLisa D. Chong, PhDDaphney R. Chery, PhDRita R. Colwell, PhD, DScThe Honorable France A. Cordova, PhDCatie Cuan, PhD candidateMargaret Dayhoff-Brannigan, PhDClaire M. Fraser, PhDOlivia L. George, PhDKorie Grayson, PhDMalika Grayson, PhDJudith Greenberg, PhDRonna Hertzano, MD, PhDAishwarya Iyer, MD/PhD student/candidateMaria Klawe, PhDKristin E. Lauter, PhDCathleen (Cat) Lutz, PhDMarcia McNutt, PhDEstelle Russek-Cohen, PhDIda Sim, MD, PhDBarbara Simons, PhDTatiana Toro, PhD
- GenresScience
456 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 3, 2023
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 4, 2023
Okay, if you follow me for advice on how to navigate grad school, this book is about to become your holy grail!! ⭐️
I wish I had known about this book when I started grad school, it even has some great advice for end of PhD navigating. It goes through everything with 6 defining core principles:
1. You’re not alone
2. You need to build and maintain a mentoring network
3. What works for a lab mates might not work for you
4. Resilience matters more than brilliance
5. Maintaining your wellness and work-life balance isn’t always easy to do, but it shouldn’t be a constant struggle
6. Ultimately, you’re working for yourself
It often feels in graduate school you are stumbling in the dark, navigating advice from different graduate students on how to make it through to your defense. Unlike other professional programs (law school, med school, business school etc), graduate school isn’t defined solely by the classes you take and the scores you get in those exams. There’s so much gray area in how much you need to work and what you need to do to make it through.
This book took all that advice and put it in one place. A survival guide for early career biomedical scientists should be required reading for entering a research lab 💯. Written by two academic professors, they cover everything from building mentorship relationships to organizing your projects to juggling the different expectations of graduate school.
Some of my favorite sections included how to fine tune presentations, balancing work-life balance, and even an entire sectiohttps://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1... on the importance of scientists doing science communication! It hits close to home and a lot of the advice and procedures are ones I’ve followed myself but had to learn on the go (ex: how to manage your project).
I wish I had known about this book when I started grad school, it even has some great advice for end of PhD navigating. It goes through everything with 6 defining core principles:
1. You’re not alone
2. You need to build and maintain a mentoring network
3. What works for a lab mates might not work for you
4. Resilience matters more than brilliance
5. Maintaining your wellness and work-life balance isn’t always easy to do, but it shouldn’t be a constant struggle
6. Ultimately, you’re working for yourself
It often feels in graduate school you are stumbling in the dark, navigating advice from different graduate students on how to make it through to your defense. Unlike other professional programs (law school, med school, business school etc), graduate school isn’t defined solely by the classes you take and the scores you get in those exams. There’s so much gray area in how much you need to work and what you need to do to make it through.
This book took all that advice and put it in one place. A survival guide for early career biomedical scientists should be required reading for entering a research lab 💯. Written by two academic professors, they cover everything from building mentorship relationships to organizing your projects to juggling the different expectations of graduate school.
Some of my favorite sections included how to fine tune presentations, balancing work-life balance, and even an entire sectiohttps://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1... on the importance of scientists doing science communication! It hits close to home and a lot of the advice and procedures are ones I’ve followed myself but had to learn on the go (ex: how to manage your project).
March 10, 2025
Experience and scholarly research tell us that role models do matter. Stories abound about how this or that underrepresented minority got into and excelled in an endeavor, when mentored by, or exposed to, a successful person from the same social/ethnic group. This is why female students thrive in academic disciplines with a critical mass of women faculty members. The book under review will no doubt inspire many women and girls to reach for their goals.
The 31 women who share their personal career journeys in this book, including the barriers and challenges they faced along the way, are leaders in a variety of STEM disciplines and come from many different sectors. They represent academia, industry, and government institutions such as FDA and NIH. They are intentionally a diverse group not only by areas of STEM, but also by age (near the end of their careers, mid-career, and just beginning), by geography (from the US East, to Midwest, to West), and by ethnicity (Native American, Latina, Hispanic, African-American, Asian, and Caucasian).
Of course, diversity wasn’t the only criterion for inclusion. The book’s contributors represent a who’s-who of successful women contributors to, and leaders in, STEM disciplines.
The 31 women who share their personal career journeys in this book, including the barriers and challenges they faced along the way, are leaders in a variety of STEM disciplines and come from many different sectors. They represent academia, industry, and government institutions such as FDA and NIH. They are intentionally a diverse group not only by areas of STEM, but also by age (near the end of their careers, mid-career, and just beginning), by geography (from the US East, to Midwest, to West), and by ethnicity (Native American, Latina, Hispanic, African-American, Asian, and Caucasian).
Of course, diversity wasn’t the only criterion for inclusion. The book’s contributors represent a who’s-who of successful women contributors to, and leaders in, STEM disciplines.
June 6, 2023
31 brilliant women scientists share their personal stories including the obstacles and challenges they faced as they defied the odds to become leaders in science, technology, engineering and math. If you loved "Lessons in Chemistry" you will be inspired by these real life Elizabeth Zotts. Bonnie Garmus, author of "Lessons in Chemistry" wrote a wonderful review of the book saying that it is "uplifting, informative and important." Available on Amazon as e Book and print and soon to be Audiobook.
June 18, 2023
Wonderful stories of the paths to success shared by 29 women who have excelled in STEM fields. A surprising number did not aim for these careers, but developed the passions along the way.
July 23, 2023
Dr. Shlian has done a terrific job of compiling a book about multi-talented women in STEM. It is fascinating to read their inspiring stories in their own unique voices. Truly compelling!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews