In Honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science

By Luis Diaz | February 11 2020 | Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

Today is a day of recognition for all of the innovative women and girls who work and study in STEM related fields.

Despite the fact that women have paved the way for crucial scientific research in the areas of medicine, the human genome, and space exploration (just to name a few), they only comprise about 30 percent of researchers worldwide. This is likely due to the continued prevalence of stereotypes that suggest these areas of study are more geared towards boys and men.

We need to break gender stereotypes that link science to masculinity and expose young generations to positive role models; women engineers, astronauts and researchers. We need a dedicated strategy not only for increasing the representation of women in the talent pipeline for STEM jobs, but also for ensuring that they thrive, incentivizing them to remain in these high-paying jobs and institutionalizing organizational cultures that enable women to advance in these fields.

—Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women

Today we call for an end to these gender biases. To help empower the young women in your classroom to pursue their passions for all things STEM, we offer a sampling of titles that might be of interest to include in your courses. In them, students will find stories of Geobiologists who will make them think of trees differently, the hidden history of the women who forever changed our understanding of the stars, and the women who brought us the internet.


For more recommendations, feel free to explore our curated lists of titles suitable for the following courses:

Women and Technology

Women and History

Sociology of Women


9780525565420
Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries--beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement.
$21.00 US
Jan 28, 2020
Paperback
592 Pages
Vintage

How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here
9780525563389
Hope Jahren is an award-winning scientist, a brilliant writer, a passionate teacher, and one of the seven billion people with whom we share this earth. In The Story of More, she illuminates the link between human habits and our imperiled planet. In concise, highly readable chapters, she takes us through the science behind the key inventions—from electric power to large-scale farming to automobiles—that, even as they help us, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere like never before. She explains the current and projected consequences of global warming—from superstorms to rising sea levels—and the actions that we all can take to fight back. At once an explainer on the mechanisms of global change and a lively, personal narrative given to us in Jahren’s inimitable voice, The Story of More is the essential pocket primer on climate change that will leave an indelible impact on everyone who reads it.
$18.00 US
Mar 03, 2020
Paperback
224 Pages
Vintage

A Memoir
9781101873724
National Bestseller
$16.00 US
Feb 28, 2017
Paperback
304 Pages
Vintage

Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley
9780525540175
An instant national bestseller, this powerful exposé of sexism in Silicon Valley is now in paperback and updated with new material.
$19.00 US
Mar 05, 2019
Paperback
336 Pages
Portfolio

How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
9780143111344
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dava Sobel, the captivating, little-known true story of women's landmark contributions to astronomy.
$20.00 US
Oct 31, 2017
Paperback
352 Pages
Penguin Books