What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Science Is Sexist
Science changes the world because the creation of knowledge opens up new pathways for us to explore new ways of doing things, and new questions to ask. My optimism lies in the fact that I think that the answer to why science is sexist does all of these things. In this eye-opening BWB Text, Nicola Gaston, President of the New Zealand Association of Scientists, reveals the ways in which the discipline of science is sexist. From the under-representation of women to the argument that mental capabilities are gendered, Gaston demonstrates the extent of our unconscious bias against female scientists, and warns of its damaging consequences for science and for society. In asking what can be done to combat this bias, she calls for us to rethink not just our attitudes towards gender, but also towards scientific knowledge and inquiry.
88 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2015
4 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 2, 2017
Nicola Gaston’s excellent essay, in the BWB Texts series of critical works by some of New Zealand’s key public intellectuals, is an engaging rummage around the gendered dynamics of doing science. I have often found myself wrapped up in explorations of ‘rationality’ as a gendered discourse, of the kinds of questions often asked in the world of science as being grounded in gender-partisan outlooks and a whole bevvy of other almost ontological questions about what it is the science, and by definition scientists, do. This is a much more prosaic and in a sense profound exploration of the gender relations of being a worker in the world of science.
Nicola Gaston opens the book with a delightfully disarming observation about writing about research of which she (and people like her, scientists) are the subject, rather than writing about her own research. She maintains this disarming tone throughout to unpack the gender politics of the workplace, of the ways forms of science are rated as credible and having status and of the myths of critical assessment and objectivity. Early on she focuses on an intriguing paper exploring workplace bias in appointments that started from the premise that scientific training in critical assessment of evidence means that scientists are not likely to demonstrate bias in workplace decisions about appointments and so forth: the authors were surprised to find that scientists are no different to anyone else in these settings – bias, expectation and stereotype shape the ways we and people like me make our decisions.
At the heart of the case is the problem of unconscious bias, in a sense, the kinds of things we do because the socio-cultural order prompts us to believe that they are the right thing to do – which means that, for instance, Gaston can critique the reliance on role models to encourage change by pointing to the need to break down assumptions. This is a short snappy engagement with science as a workplace, that in a sense tells us that science is sexist because it is a workplace, and just like most others it is shaped by presumptions about gender.
It is a sharp, engaging and accessible discussion of a serious challenge to the quality of the work we do as scientists of whatever type, and deserves to be widely read and become part of the array of tools we use to bring about change for the better.
Nicola Gaston opens the book with a delightfully disarming observation about writing about research of which she (and people like her, scientists) are the subject, rather than writing about her own research. She maintains this disarming tone throughout to unpack the gender politics of the workplace, of the ways forms of science are rated as credible and having status and of the myths of critical assessment and objectivity. Early on she focuses on an intriguing paper exploring workplace bias in appointments that started from the premise that scientific training in critical assessment of evidence means that scientists are not likely to demonstrate bias in workplace decisions about appointments and so forth: the authors were surprised to find that scientists are no different to anyone else in these settings – bias, expectation and stereotype shape the ways we and people like me make our decisions.
At the heart of the case is the problem of unconscious bias, in a sense, the kinds of things we do because the socio-cultural order prompts us to believe that they are the right thing to do – which means that, for instance, Gaston can critique the reliance on role models to encourage change by pointing to the need to break down assumptions. This is a short snappy engagement with science as a workplace, that in a sense tells us that science is sexist because it is a workplace, and just like most others it is shaped by presumptions about gender.
It is a sharp, engaging and accessible discussion of a serious challenge to the quality of the work we do as scientists of whatever type, and deserves to be widely read and become part of the array of tools we use to bring about change for the better.
September 7, 2017
An excellent and engaging read that is essential for all those working in Science. It's a good reminder that everyone is susceptible to unconscious bias and it will keep me more conscious of my own biases when interacting with others.
August 7, 2024
well-written and easy to understand!
June 13, 2025
very interesting, I liked it
January 14, 2016
An excellent extension of Dr. Gaston's compelling lecture, which I was fortunate enough to attend last year. I also recommend her blog of the same name.
February 13, 2016
Fantastic! Should be compulsory reading for everyone with even a slight interest in how we do science.
January 25, 2016
Concise and eloquent argument. Eye-opening.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews