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Women In Science and Technology

BOOKS – E-BOOKS – ARTICLES AND REPORTS – INTERNET RESOURCES

From Hypatia of Alexandria, through Caroline Herschel, to Sally Ride and Lori Garver, women have participated in humanity’s quest to explore the universe. Unfortunately, throughout history, women have been kept from full participation. According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics at the National Science Foundation, the split between men and women in science and engineering is decidedly in mens’ favor. Often, the barriers to entering those fields are raised in grade school and continue to impede women long after they graduate from college. NASA has worked for many years to break down these barriers for women at NASA and in the sciences. Some of these barriers are an unfortunate consequence of corporate culture and will require organizational change to make careers in the sciences and engineering more welcome to women.

You may also find items of interest in our webpages on Science EducationMinorities in Science, and Resources for Amateur Astronomy and Model Rocketry. If you are a NASA employee, please consider subscribing to our news alerts on education.

The following is a select bibliography of pertinent materials accessible to the patrons of the NASA HQ Library. All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: Call x0168 or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public: Contact your local library for the availability of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.

BOOKS

Ackmann, Martha. The Mercury 13: The Untold Story of Thirteen American Women and the Dream of Space Flight. New York, NY: Random House, 2003. ISBN: 0375507442
TL789.85 .A1 A35 2003 BOOKSTACKS

Committee on the Guide to Recruiting and Advancing Women Scientists and Engineers in Academia, Committee on Women in Science and Engineering, Policy and Global Affairs, National Research Council of the National Academies. To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2009. ISBN: 0309547156
Q130 .T6 2006 BOOKSTACKS
Also available to the general public through the National Academies Press.

Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780309100427
Q130 .B49 2007 BOOKSTACKS
Also available to the general public through the National Academies Press.

Hopping, Lorraine Jean. Space Rocks: The Story of Planetary Geologist Adriana Ocampo. New York, NY: Franklin Watts, 2005. ISBN: 0531167836
TL789.85 .S52 A3 1999 BOOKSTACKS

Jemison, Mae. Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments From my Life. New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 2001. ISBN: 0439131952
TL789.85 .J4 J45 2001 BOOKSTACKS

Parkinson, Claire L., Pamela S. Millar, and Michelle Thaller (eds.). Women of Goddard: Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center, 2011.
Q130 .G633 W664 2011 BOOKSTACKS

Shayler, David, and Ian Moule. Women in Space: Following Valentina. Chichester, UK: Praxis Pub., 2005. ISBN: 1852337443
TL789.85 .W66 S53 2005 BOOKSTACKS

Shirley, Donna. Managing Martians. New York, NY: Broadway Books, 1999. ISBN: 0767902416
QB454.2 O23H67 2005 BOOKSTACKS

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A Tribute to National Aeronautics and Space Administration Women Astronauts: Past and Present. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2001.
TL789.85 .A1 T75 2001 BOOKSTACKS

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Women Contractors at NASA: Selected Profiles of Women-Owned Small Businesses Contributing to America’s Space Program.Washington, DC: NASA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, 2004.
TL521.312 .W65 2004 BOOKSTACKS

Williams, F. Mary, and Carolyn J. Emerson. Becoming Leaders: A Practical Handbook for Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2008. ISBN: 9780784409206
HC79 .T4 H3533 2008 PPM-STACKS

Woodmansee, Laura S. Women Astronauts. Burlington, Ont.: Apogee, 2001. ISBN: 1896522874
TL789.85 .A1 W66 2002 BOOKSTACKS

__________. Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier. Burlington, Ont.: Apogee, 2003. ISBN: 1894959035
HQ1397 .W66 2003 BOOKSTACKS

E-BOOKS

The e-books listed below are available to NASA civil servants and contractors through the Books 24×7 service of SATERN.

  • Cohoon, J. McGrath, and William Aspray (eds.). Women and Information Technology: Research on Underrepresentation. The MIT Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780262033459
  • Pritchard, Peggy A. Success Strategies for Women in Science: A Portable Mentor. Academic Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780120884117
  • Wiefling, Kimberly. Scrappy Women in Business: Living Proof That Bending the Rules Isn’t Breaking the Law. Happy About, 2010. ISBN: 9781600051852
  • The e-books listed below are available to the general public through the National Academies Press.
  • Committee on Gender Differences in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty; Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Committee on National Statistics; National Research Council. Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty. 2010. ISBN: 9780309114639
  • Committee on Maximizing the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering: Workshop Report. 2006. ISBN: 9780309100410
  • Didion, Catherine Jay, Rita S. Guenther, and Victoria Gunderson. From Science to Business: Preparing Female Scientists and Engineers for Successful Transitions into Entrepreneurship: Summary of a Workshop. 2012. ISBN: 9780309256094
  • Fox, Marye Anne. Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce: Meeting Summary. 2003. ISBN: 9780309089609

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Bouville, Mathieu. “Should there be more women in science and engineering?”, Physics World, vol. XIV (April 2007), p. 279-288.
Available as document no. 2006physics..11089B through the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System.

Ceci, Stephen J. and Wendy M. Williams. “Understanding current causes of women’s underrepresentation in science”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol CVIII, no. 8, p. 3157-3162

Fries, Sylvia Doughty. “The history of women in NASA”, NASA-TM-108100, in: Women’s Equality Day, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, Aug. 23, 1991.
(19940005232: (April 2011) NTRS)

Powers, Sheryll Goecke. “A biased historical perspective of women in the engineering field at Dryden from 1946 to November 1992”, in: 1993 Technical Paper Contest for Women. Gear Up 2000: Women in Motion, NASA-CP-10134, Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, CA, Feb. 1, 1994.
(19940031460: (May 2008) NTRS)

INTERNET RESOURCES

NASA Resources

Antoun, Chris, and Matt Antoun. Women@NASA. March 7, 2012 [Aug. 6, 2012]
http://women.nasa.gov/

Brunner, Christopher. NASA Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. June 21, 2012 [Aug. 6, 2012]
http://odeo.hq.nasa.gov/

Eyermann, Sarah. Big Explosions and Strong Gravity. October 26, 2010 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://bigexplosions.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html

Garber, Steve. Women in Space. July 2012. [Aug. 7, 2017]
http://history.nasa.gov/women.html

Gass, James. Women in Astronomy 2009. Jan. 5, 2011 [Aug. 7, 2012]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/women_astronomy.html

Nevills, Amiko. Women at NASA. Nov. 30, 2007 [Aug. 7, 2012]
https://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/preparingtravel/women_at_nasa.htmlNon-NASA Resources

American Astronomical Society. Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy. July 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.aas.org/cswa/

American Society for Engineering Education. Women in Engineering Division. Jan. 12, 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://wied.asee.org/

Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. Aug. 6, 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://anitaborg.org/

Association for Women in Science. 2011 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.awis.org/

Engineer Girl. 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.engineergirl.org/

Expanding Your Horizons Network. 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org/

International Women’s Air and Space Museum. 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.iwasm.org/

National Research Council. Committee on Women in Science and Engineering. June 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/cwsem/index.htm

National Science Foundation. Division of Science Resources Statistics. Workforce: Women. 2011 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=14&SubID=45

She is an Astronomer. 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.sheisanastronomer.org/

The Society of Women Engineers. Aug. 7, 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/

Women in Aerospace. 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://www.womeninaerospace.org/

Women in Planetary Science. July 13, 2012 [Aug. 7, 2012]
http://womeninplanetaryscience.wordpress.com/