The Exceptions

‘Outstanding’ Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry The remarkable untold story of how a group of sixteen determined women used the power of the collective and the tools of science to inspire ongoing radical change. This is a triumphant account of progress, whilst reminding us that further action is needed. These women scientists entered the work force in the 1960s during a push for affirmative action. Embarking on their careers they thought that discrimination against women was a thing of the past and that science was a pure meritocracy. Women were marginalized and minimized, especially as they grew older, their contributions stolen and erased. Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who broke the story in 1999 for The Boston Globe, when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made the astonishing admission that it discriminated against women on its faculty, The Exceptions is an intimate narrative which centres on Nancy Hopkins – a surprisingly reluctant feminist who became a hero to two generations of women in science. In uncovering an erased history, we are finally introduced to the hidden scientists who paved the way for collective change. Only when these few women came together after two decades did they recognize the relentless pattern: women were marginalized and minimized, especially as they grew older, their contributions stolen and erased. Meanwhile, men of similar or lesser ability had their way paved. This is a story that will ring true for all professional women who experience what those at MIT came to call '21st century discrimination': a subtle and stubborn bias, often unconscious but still damaging. Readers will learn about scientists whose work has often been overlooked, and also about the history of women’s push for fair treatment and how they were viewed – by themselves and others – as they struggled to be taken seriously.