Inferior (book)

According to journalist Chantal Da Silva of The Independent, Angela Saini "paints a disturbing picture of just how deeply sexist notions have been woven into the fabric of scientific research" and concluded that her work "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".

Science journalist Nicola Davis writing for The Guardian stated that Saini "discovers that many of society’s traditional beliefs about women are built on shaky ground" and that "Saini’s scrutiny of the stereotype of men as hunters, leaving women to tend hearth and home, is eye-opening".

Journalist Anjana Vaswani in the Ahmedabad Mirror wrote that Saini "exposes Charles Darwin's prejudices and how his views on a woman's place in society tinted, or rather tainted, his theories."{{cite news |last=Vaswani |first=Anjana |title=Fighting Science with Science |url=http://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/unwind/fighting-science-with-science/articleshow/59974118.cms |newspaper=Ahmedabad Mirror |date=9 August 2017 |access-date=14 April 2018}}

In a review by Chemistry World, journalist Jennifer Newton wrote that "Saini’s narrative is sharp, engaging and admirably tempered" "I cannot recommend it highly enough".{{Cite news |title=Inferior: how science got women wrong – and the new research that's rewriting the story |magazine=Chemistry World |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/review/inferior-how-science-got-women-wrong--and-the-new-research-thats-rewriting-the-story-/3008048.article |access-date=2018-02-03}}

A month after its release, Inferior was recommended by Scientific American.{{Cite journal |last=Gawrylewski |first=Andrea |title=Recommended |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/daring-apollo-8-astronauts-rediscovering-a-forgotten-math-genius-and-other-new-science-books1/ |journal=Scientific American |year=2017 |volume=316 |issue=6 |pages=74 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0617-74|pmid=28510567 |url-access=subscription }} It was a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards for "Best Science and Technology" in 2017 but ultimately lost to Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-science-technology-books-2017|title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Science & Technology!|publisher=Goodreads|access-date=2018-02-03}} Inferior was chosen as the Physics World "Book of the Year" for 2017 by the editor Tushna Commissariat who called it "[i]ntrepid, detailed [and] upbeat".{{Cite web |last=Commissariat |first=Tushna |date=2017-12-13 |title=Inferior by Angela Saini wins Physics World’s 2017 Book of the Year |url=https://physicsworld.com/a/inferior-by-angela-saini-wins-physics-worlds-2017-book-of-the-year/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Physics World |language=en-GB}}

Egyptologist Julien Delhez, writing for the journal Evolution, Mind and Behaviour in 2019, criticized Inferior for being "imprecise", "hazy", stating that "[w]hile researchers often benefit from listening to those who disagree with them, innuendos and vague claims such as these will certainly not help". He also wrote that the book creates confusion that could potentially "seriously deteriorate the dialogue between the public and the scientific community", unless "evolutionary psychologists, personality researchers, and intelligence researchers take the time to respond to such critics [i.e. Saini]".{{cite journal | last = Delhez | first = Julien | title = Evolutionary perspectives on human sex differences and their discontents | journal = Evolution, Mind and Behaviour | page = 5 | publisher = Akadémiai Kiadó | date = May 2019 | volume = 17 | doi = 10.1556/2050.2019.00008 | url = https://akademiai.com/doi/full/10.1556/2050.2019.00008 |access-date=2018-08-08 | doi-access = free }}

Psychologist Felipe Carvalho Novaes in the Portuguese journal Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho, wrote that the book was well-written, but that it suffers from excessive biases and several contradictions.{{Cite journal |last=Novaes |first=Felipe Carvalho |date=2021 |title=A ciência é sexista? Resenha sobre "inferior: how science got women wrong" |url=http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1984-66572021000100015&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=pt |journal=Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho |language=pt |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1420–1421 |doi=10.5935/rpot/2021.1.20102 |issn=1984-6657|doi-access=free }} Novaes also recommended reading other books, such as The Sexual Paradox, so the reader could get different perspectives on the subject.

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".{{Cite web |last=Rawling |first=Jennie |date=2017-11-30 |title=Journalist Angela Saini tells Imperial 'How Science Got Women Wrong |url=http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_30-11-2017-15-49-56 |access-date=2018-02-03 |publisher=Imperial College London}}{{Cite web |title="Inferior, how science got women wrong" |url=http://cavinspiringwomen.squarespace.com/our-events/2017/10/11/2zhfmcg6hf3fdn3rrl9vwufzd93uap |access-date=2018-02-03 |website=Cavendish Inspiring Women}}{{Dead link|date=January 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}{{Cite web |last=pt91 |title=How science got women wrong explored by award-winning science journalist — University of Leicester |url=https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2017/october/how-science-got-women-wrong-explored-by-award-winning-science-journalist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101082236/https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2017/october/how-science-got-women-wrong-explored-by-award-winning-science-journalist |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 January 2018 |access-date=2018-02-03 |website=www2.le.ac.uk }}{{Cite web |title=In Conversation With...Angela Saini and Louise Archer |url=https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-withangela-saini-and-louise-archer-tickets-37809109063 |access-date=2018-02-03 |publisher=Eventbrite}}

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• {{Cite news |title=How science got women wrong |work=The Economist |date=2017-06-29 |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/06/29/how-science-got-women-wrong |issn=0013-0613 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190818031121/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/06/29/how-science-got-women-wrong |archive-date=18 August 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=18 August 2019 }}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story}}

Category:2017 non-fiction books

Category:Books about science

Category:Women in science and technology

Category:Books about women

Category:Fourth Estate books

Category:Beacon Press books