I'm a sucker for short profiles, especially these hyper-focused collections. By looking at a narrow section of the population the author can look at figures who might otherwise be overlooked. This can mean that accomplishments run together a bit. Still, worth a look.

This has a basic bio of some world-changing, STEM career-forging Black women from the US.

My only thing was that I wished each person had a more detailed story rather than just the outline.

People have different strengths and ways of problem solving. That is one reason that diversity in any workplace is a positive and productive thing. Especially where rigorous critical thinking skills are driving scientific and technological discovery it's more important than ever to have creative and diverse minds tackling society's ever more disastrous problems. STEM is critically important and is one area which has traditionally been male dominated. Changing the Equation is a collection of profiles and short biographies of women of color representing different fields of science in the USA. Due out 3rd March from Abrams, it's 208 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is an interesting and informative collection of women of color who were unbelievable trail-blazers in some cases, impressive in all cases who defied tradition, prejudice, and powerful opposition to become notable in their chosen fields of study. The book includes doctors, inventors, educators, mathematicians, veterinarians, engineers, geochemists, data and computer experts, and even a video game developer.

As women in technological fields (I'm a bioengineer), we've been subjected from birth on to constant subtle universal conditioning that math is *hard*, science is for boys, and we should choose something more ladylike to pursue. I really believe that's changing (oh so slowly), but it's really nice to see a real representation of women, and especially women of color, excelling at these traditionally male-dominated professions.

There's room for everyone. We have a critical need for creative, smart, solution oriented, curious, persevering scientists now more than ever. We need books which can show young people that they CAN pursue an education in STEM careers.

This would make a superlative classroom or library book. It would also make a great gift for any young person. These are well written biographies and well worth a read. Despite being a huge science nerd myself, there were a number of these women who were unfamiliar to me. I enjoyed reading this myself and I can think back when I was 12 or 13 and determined to pursue a career in science that I would have been ecstatic to find this book.

Five stars. Well done and appropriate for *anyone*.

To me, it seems important that we have sections of the year that are dedicated to the history of marginalized communities. This provides one more “nudge” to encourage teachers to make sure that these communities are included in our instruction. However, these months or weeks devoted to the study of particular identity groups come with a risk that students will compartmentalize these events and individuals separately from what they consider to be “history”.

If the only time that we talk about the Civil Rights Movement, Harriet Tubman, Black Lives Matter, or Fred Shuttlesworth is during Black History Month, then what does that say about their importance to American History. If we only talk about Bessie Coleman, Emmeline Pankhurst, Seneca Falls, and Wangari Maathai during Women’s History Month then what message does that send to young boys and girls about World History. One book that is perfect for any time of the year is Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women In STEM by Tonya Bolden, which will be available to every reader on March 3, 2020. I greatly appreciate that ABRAMS Kids and NetGalley provided me with the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy.

Bolden writes in an exciting and engaging way with direct references to the reader. The remarkable women profiled in this book include doctors, inventors, physicists, mathematicians, and STEM innovators in many other fields. Many of those profiled were the first women to receive degrees or work in their fields and others were the first Black women to do so. They made important discoveries that influenced research and contributed to knowledge we still draw upon today. So, why don’t we hear about them more often?

There is a lack of representation of women and minorities in STEM fields. I don’t know the exact causes behind this problem, but I imagine that a contributing factor is that we rarely hear about the contributions of trailblazers in these fields who were not white men. With this one book, Bolden has given teachers ample opportunity to introduce students to at least one innovative thinker per week who does not look like Edison, Einstein, or Franklin. Best of all, we don’t have to squeeze them all into February or March in order to acknowledge their achievements.