Sexist Science
Susan Greenfield, the Oxford pharmacologist recently described by The Times as "Britain's best-known female scientist", has suggested she is treated differently by her profession because of her sex.
Following a recent review of her book Tomorrow's People by Nobel Laureate Philip Anderson, in which he referred to it as something he had to "grit [his] teeth and really work at", Baroness Greenfield said that, while she didn't mind criticism, what she couldn't live with is the differential she felt because she is a woman.
Professor Anderson has stood by his comments, stating that he "didn't feel [he] could have guessed the author's gender." However, the Baroness's complaints have gained support from other scientists, both male and female, prompted partly by another review which began by describing her as "reclining on a sofa, leather-skirted, legs impudently sporting fishnet stockings, lips glossed."
Greenfield said that focusing on how she looks "reinforces the image of science as male-dominated."
30th Oct 2003