What do you think?
Rate this book
Race, Gender, and Science
Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference
" . . . a wonderful addition to any mathematics teacher's professional bookshelf." ―The Mathematics Teacher
"The individual biographies themselves make for enthralling, often inspiring, reading . . . this volume should be compelling reading for women mathematics students and professionals. A fine addition to the literature on women in science . . . Highly recommended." ―Choice
". . . it makes an important contribution to scholarship on the interrelations of gender, mathematics, and culture in the U.S. in the second half of the twentieth century." ―Notices of the AMS
"Who is the audience for this book? Certainly women who are interested in studying mathematics and women already in mathematics who have become discouraged will find much to interest and help them. Faculty who teach such women would put it to good use. But it would be a loss to relegate the book to a shelf for occasional reference to an interested student or beginning mathematician. Everyone in the mathematics community in which each of Henrion's subjects struggled so hard to find a place could benefit by a thoughtful reading." ―Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) News
Mathematics is often described as the purest of the sciences, the least tainted by subjective or cultural influences. Theoretically, the only requirement for a life of mathematics is mathematical ability. And yet we see very few women mathematicians. Why?
Based upon a series of ten intensive interviews with prominent women mathematicians throughout the United States, this book investigates the role of gender in the complex relationship between mathematician, the mathematical community, and mathematics itself.
"The individual biographies themselves make for enthralling, often inspiring, reading . . . this volume should be compelling reading for women mathematics students and professionals. A fine addition to the literature on women in science . . . Highly recommended." ―Choice
". . . it makes an important contribution to scholarship on the interrelations of gender, mathematics, and culture in the U.S. in the second half of the twentieth century." ―Notices of the AMS
"Who is the audience for this book? Certainly women who are interested in studying mathematics and women already in mathematics who have become discouraged will find much to interest and help them. Faculty who teach such women would put it to good use. But it would be a loss to relegate the book to a shelf for occasional reference to an interested student or beginning mathematician. Everyone in the mathematics community in which each of Henrion's subjects struggled so hard to find a place could benefit by a thoughtful reading." ―Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) News
Mathematics is often described as the purest of the sciences, the least tainted by subjective or cultural influences. Theoretically, the only requirement for a life of mathematics is mathematical ability. And yet we see very few women mathematicians. Why?
Based upon a series of ten intensive interviews with prominent women mathematicians throughout the United States, this book investigates the role of gender in the complex relationship between mathematician, the mathematical community, and mathematics itself.
328 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
95 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 24, 2013
This is an excellent book for anyone who is considering balancing family with a male dominated academic field to read. Though the biographies in this book are specific to struggles that women have in mathematics, many of the issues may apply to fields such as physics, computer science, and engineering.
Some of the women in this book were struggling for inclusion when they were expected to stay at home and raise children. Schools like Harvard and MIT were especially hard on women. In one scene mentioned in this book, one woman sat down in class and NO ONE sat in any of the four seats around her.
When a sign said "Men Only" for a position at another university, one woman was flattered because someone had remembered that there was an actual woman in the department.
The path that Marian Pour-El chose seemed particularly tough. She and her husband lived apart to pursue their academic paths through much of their working life, but they also had a child. Since most women stayed at home to raise children, it was very hard to find someone to help take care of her child while she pursued her academic interests and essentially being a single parent.
Many of the women hid their private lives for fear of not being taken seriously. One mathematician wore a dress to class, and people were surprised that she looked so feminine to the extent that someone asked her out. Her classmate who asked her out did not realize that she had been married for five years and was several months pregnant. She hid this fact from those around her for fear of not being considered a serious mathematician.
Mary Ellen Rudin seemed like she had the best personal life of the early female mathematicians. She raised four children and taught on a schedule that suited her. This was partly because she was not considered to be a serious mathematician. After many years and many papers, the university that employed her was shamed into raising her from lecturer to full professor. What was inspiring about her story is that she developed this community around her and inspired other female mathematicians.
The more modern mathematicians had the problem of pointing out the treatment of women in mathematics. By focusing on the feminist issues, they lost some credibility as mathematicians. And when they focused fully on the mathematics, the feminists that supported their causes felt betrayed.
The last two mathematicians covered in this book are black female mathematicians. Their struggles were different than those of other people. One of those mathematicians was rejected from Baylor because Baylor was not accepting any black students. Then, four years later, she was granted a position as a professor at Baylor.
One of these last two mathematicians had a fellowship. However, when she got to Connecticut, she couldn't find anyone who would offer her a place to live because racist practices in housing rentals were not restricted.
Some of the women in this book were struggling for inclusion when they were expected to stay at home and raise children. Schools like Harvard and MIT were especially hard on women. In one scene mentioned in this book, one woman sat down in class and NO ONE sat in any of the four seats around her.
When a sign said "Men Only" for a position at another university, one woman was flattered because someone had remembered that there was an actual woman in the department.
The path that Marian Pour-El chose seemed particularly tough. She and her husband lived apart to pursue their academic paths through much of their working life, but they also had a child. Since most women stayed at home to raise children, it was very hard to find someone to help take care of her child while she pursued her academic interests and essentially being a single parent.
Many of the women hid their private lives for fear of not being taken seriously. One mathematician wore a dress to class, and people were surprised that she looked so feminine to the extent that someone asked her out. Her classmate who asked her out did not realize that she had been married for five years and was several months pregnant. She hid this fact from those around her for fear of not being considered a serious mathematician.
Mary Ellen Rudin seemed like she had the best personal life of the early female mathematicians. She raised four children and taught on a schedule that suited her. This was partly because she was not considered to be a serious mathematician. After many years and many papers, the university that employed her was shamed into raising her from lecturer to full professor. What was inspiring about her story is that she developed this community around her and inspired other female mathematicians.
The more modern mathematicians had the problem of pointing out the treatment of women in mathematics. By focusing on the feminist issues, they lost some credibility as mathematicians. And when they focused fully on the mathematics, the feminists that supported their causes felt betrayed.
The last two mathematicians covered in this book are black female mathematicians. Their struggles were different than those of other people. One of those mathematicians was rejected from Baylor because Baylor was not accepting any black students. Then, four years later, she was granted a position as a professor at Baylor.
One of these last two mathematicians had a fellowship. However, when she got to Connecticut, she couldn't find anyone who would offer her a place to live because racist practices in housing rentals were not restricted.
February 27, 2010
Excellent structure for the book - weaving individual mathematicians' biographies with larger myths about mathematicians. The last chapter was especially terrific.
August 14, 2014
This is a gender studies book, not a book about the mathematical achievements of female mathematicians. With this in mind I found if to be an insightful and still completely relevant work. This book puts forth evidence, though not incontrovertible, undermining myths about mathematics and mathematicians that limits the success of women (and in many cases men as well I am sure) from pursuing successfully, if not at all, careers in mathematics.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews