Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong

Description: Physics World Book of the Year 2017 Are women more nurturing than men? Are men more promiscuous than women? Are males the naturally dominant sex? And can science give us an impartial answer to these questions? Taking us on an eye-opening journey through science, Inferior challenges our preconceptions about men and women, investigating the ferocious gender wars that burn in biology, psychology and anthropology. Angela Saini revisits the landmark experiments that have informed our understanding, lays bare the problem of bias in research, and speaks to the scientists finally exploring the truth about the female sex. The result is an enlightening and deeply empowering account of women's minds, bodies and evolutionary history. Interrogating what these revelations mean for us as individuals and as a society, Inferior unveils a fresh view of science in which women are included, rather than excluded.

Review: `Angela Saini has written a powerful, compelling and much needed account that challenges deeply rooted preconceptions about sex differences' Adam Rutherford, author of Creation 'An immensely readable and compelling book, providing up to date and evidence-based ammunition for readers who want to rebuff tired myths stereotyping men and women's brains and bodies' Professor Athene Donald 'This is an important book, beautifully written, and with compelling narratives and hard evidence researched through the lenses of anthropology, evolutionary history, psychology, and neuroscience' Aarathi Prasad, author of Like a Virgin 'A thought-provoking insight into the many different stories behind research into the age-old issue of differences between males and females. Clearly and accessibly written, this book offers an intriguing and provocative alternative view of past certainties about men and women' Professor Gina Rippon, Chair of Cognitive Brain Imaging, Aston Brain Centre `An enlightening account that shatters gender stereotypes... Armed with a heavy arsenal of data, Saini provides a gripping and much-needed account of how even the most impartial fields of scientific study have for centuries fallen prey to the biases of the patriarchal foundations they have been built upon...Saini's work also presents the rest of the scientific community with an important challenge: to acknowledge and correct a deep-rooted bias - and to help rewrite the role of women in the story of human evolution' Independent `Illuminating' Economist `Saini is a meticulous researcher whose attention to detail is evident in her interviews with scientists behind some of the biggest results in neuroscience and psychology ... It is my hope that this important book encourages scientists and educationists of the need for more evidence-based approaches to ensure equality and diversity in science' Physics World

Author Biography: Angela Saini is an award-winning science journalist, author and broadcaster.