In Honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science

By Luis Diaz | February 11 2020 | Science

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 women who are asking tough questions about how to live on a planet of finite resources, profiles of historically overlooked female visionaries, and more!


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

English Language Arts – Girls & Women

History of Women

Notable People in Science


50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
9781607749769
From the ancient to the modern world, Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Full of striking, singular art, this new collection also contains infographics about relevant topics such as lab equipment, rates of women currently working in STEM fields, and an illustrated scientific glossary. The trailblazing women profiled include well-known figures like primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as lesser-known pioneers such as Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
$16.99 US
Jul 26, 2016
Hardcover
128 Pages
Ten Speed Press

52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World
9780553446791
Fifty-two inspiring and insightful profiles of history’s brightest female scientists.
$17.00 US
Apr 07, 2015
Paperback
288 Pages
Crown

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