“The Door in the Dream:  Conversations with Eminent Women in Science”  by Elga Wasserman. National Academy of Sciences, 2000.  254 pages, $24.95 hardback.

Reviewed by P.A. Moore

In the preface to “The Door in the Dream,” NSF Director Rita Colwell says that she wished there were one single reason why women are underrepresented in science.  “If there were, there would be a quick fix.”  Since there are many reasons, and since there is no quick fix, the author of “Dream,” Elga Wasserman, decided to profile eminent women scientists to get a sense of the personal challenges that might inform current and future women in science.  The result is an intimate look at a group of elite women, written in an easy conversational tone, with numerous anecdotes, quotes and asides that personalize the biographies of these women.  Biographies cover topics such as grad school, marriage, tenure and career paths, consequently, girls 16-18 might find this more interesting than younger teens.

”Statistical data fails to portray the reality of lives of individual women scientists,” so Wasserman surveyed the 86 living women who were elected to the National Academy of Sciences.   She received responses from 66 of the women (77%) and from that number conducted 37 interviews.  The life span of the women interviewed covers the 20^th century, so the book roots its subjects in their historical context.  Chapters are organized roughly by the decades in which the women actively worked in their careers.

Wasserman herself has a PhD in chemistry from Harvard and a JD degree from Yale Law School.  She admits that she herself was a “science dropout.” While she worked at the bench part time while raising a family, she jumped at the chance for an administrative job that would allow her to raise her family and still be involved with a university. 

In a closing chapter where the author tries to find “shared experiences and concerns,” it’s obvious that each woman had a unique story, and the only real commonality is the passion for science that drove each women to persist despite the obstacles.  While legislation has allowed some progress in leveling the playing field for women, there are still some long-standing cultural stereotypes that impede progress.  Wasserman ends with a plea to reexamine the scientific enterprise in order to attract and retain women scientists.