Inferior (book)


Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story is a 2017 book by science journalist Angela Saini. The book discusses the effect of sexism on scientific research, and how that sexism influences social beliefs.
The book was published by Beacon Press in the United States and Fourth Estate Books in the United Kingdom.

Reception

According to The Independent Angela Saini "paints a disturbing picture of just how deeply sexist notions have been woven into the fabric of scientific research".
The Guardian noted that Saini "discovers that many of society’s traditional beliefs about women are built on shaky ground".
The Ahmedabad Mirror pointed out that Saini "exposes Charles Darwin's prejudices and how his views on a woman's place in society tinted, or rather tainted, his theories."
Inferior was launched in June 2017 at the Royal Academy of Engineering. A month after its release, Inferior was recommended by Scientific American. It was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards for "Best Science and Technology" in 2017.
Inferior was Physics World "Book of the Year" for 2017. In the review by Chemistry World, Jennifer Newton wrote "I cannot recommend it highly enough".
After the release of Inferior, Angela Saini was invited to speak at universities and schools around the country, in what became a "scientific feminist book tour".
Egyptology student Julien Delhez, writing for the journal Evolution, Mind and Behaviour in 2019, criticized Inferior for creating confusion that could potentially "seriously deteriorate the dialogue between the public and the scientific community".