Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong-and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story Hardcover – May 30, 2017

Saini provides an excellent survey in how “objective” science has been used historically to provide “evidence” of the inferiority of women and how it continues to be used to “prove” gender differences. From primate social structures to fMRIs, Saini details the ways what we choose to research, how we interpret data, and which results receive attention and funding are often as influential in the conclusions as any data collected. A great primer in gender biases in scientific research and a concise rebuttal of biological essentialism, with some of the history of the women who have fought to be treated equally by science for centuries.

Outstanding book which could not be more timely.

Enjoyed the book. An early section on health and disease was weak mainly due to the fact that the diseases the author writes about have been shown to be lifestyle diseases. Would have been interesting to see data on recovery from acute trauma vs. the chronic disease she focused on. Fascinating to read about evolutionary biology's bias from Darwin coming forward. Always nice to see author'sintegrating a wider portrayal of our primate cousins than simply focusing on the one or two that back up a hypothesis. As a male reader, I did not find the author advocating for female superiority. I think she makes that quite clear. Rather she is bringing up a wide range of studies that indicate a wide crossover between males and females... and that culture plays a huge role in shaping whatever differences exist in any given group. Separating biology from cultural development is complicated to the point of impossible.As the father of a son and daughter, one who cares deeply about his children and wants both of them to have the freedom to explore their passions, the book was a great reminder of what's available for the female and that a lot of the headwinds are cultural.As the husband of my wife, so nice to see reminders of hunter-gatherer societies where egalitarianism was the rule and women had sexual freedom without fear of violence. "Mate guarding" behavior may make sense for many when we are in our procreative years actively having children. However, once passed this stage it makes little sense to persist in treating women like property. It harms both sexes. Our culture in the West asserts this as normal, even God given, but it's nothing short of madness.

This book. My goodness, how INFERIOR: HOW SCIENCE GOT WOMEN WRONG has made itself difficult to review. But in a good way.First, I found it stimulating. Revisiting the old science and the new scientific discovers got me thinking down dozens of different lines. I really enjoyed the research on Bonobos and other primates that I wasn't familiar with. Very interesting.And then there was the new research on human brains and hormones and theories of behavior. For a short book, Saini manages to accommodate a lot of facts and information. And one of the aspects I really enjoyed is that she didn't water it all down to pablum. Though everything was easy to understand, she never the less didn't cut corners and just give you her opinion. No, she gives the Reader the opinions of experts in the field on different sides of the debate. Debate, because it's no over yet.Besides the scientific tracks, I also found myself revisiting the past decades and recent events. In some ways little has changed. The white men in science, like history, still rule the roost -- which is why much of the old science and the new science is wrong. By being unaware of their own inner thought processes, they bring bias to their experiments. And anyone who has trained in History can probably lecture you over a beer about the dangers of such ignorance. (For brief and interesting reading, pick up Marc Bloch's THE HISTORIANS CRAFT. It should be mandatory reading for anyone in the sciences and pseudo-sciences.)In any case, that last paragraph comes from me and not the author. She does her best to provide the best data and interpretation. There are short sections of the book where I think she gets sidetracked but overall, this is fascinating book.Recommend. I like the author's conversational style.

I really enjoyed this book. I am a woman scientist-turned-attorney and I can remember a college class called Women in Science, before I knew about women's issues in the workplace. The author presents very thought-provoking ideas and the ideas of experts. It is definitely not a "man-bashing" or "woman-power" book but is presented in a manner that allows the readers to consider and think for themselves. The book also is written in way that is interesting to follow - no need to be a scholar in science for this one! It's also short enough it doesn't drag on too long.

This is a wonderful read if you want to take a broad look at the differences between genders and why women are considered to be inferior to their male counterparts.The research and citations were excellent, with plenty of anecdotes, examples and quotes to support the author's points but presented in such a way that the book was fun to read - it's clearly biased in favour of women not being the inferior 50% of our species, but is that a bad thing?For what is actually pretty dense and contentious subject matter, I found this book really easy to read and enjoyable.Possibly my favourite chapter was the last - exploring the evolutionary purpose of the menopause. It shocked me to learn how little interest or research there was in the menopause until pharmaceutical companies they could make money off 'treating' it in the 20th century.I loved this book and will recommend it to all my friends with an interest in science and gender equality- it's fascinating and informative, but the author hasn't climbed up on a soapbox to write it so it doesn't light my feminist fuse with all the outdated research on why women should stay in the home.

Interesting read