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A former supervisor of mine, Polly Arnold (Edinburgh), is launching a short film and book about women in science. Details can be found at: http://chemicalimbalance.co.uk/
I thought it would be useful to have a thread gethering resources that might be of interest to students and faculty looking to begin conversations about diversity and underrepresentation of various groups within their departments.
I'm looking forward to seeing the film and reading the book on this very important topic.
I read Virginia Valian's "Why So Slow?" some years ago and would recommend it although it is a little bit dated at this point.
One thing that our community should work on doing is acknowledging that no single person can speak for an entire group and that there are many different experiences out there. I clearly recall reading in C&E News (in the late 1990s when I was a grad student) a series of interviews with successful women chemists in various careers. One of the questions asked of some of the women was if they had encountered any obstacles to their advancement. Some of the women had not, which is great for them, but it almost seemed that the articles were trying to point out that gender discrimination doesn't exist in chemistry. Some of the interviewees spoke as though their experiences were the norm and not the exception. I wish that they had shared their point of view in a way that allowed for the fact that others may have very different experiences.
PBS produced a documetary: "Forgotten Genius". Against all odds, African-American chemist Percy Julian became one of the great scientists of the 20th century. Aired February 6, 2007 on PBS. As you would expect froma NOVA production, they have associated activities on their website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/forgotten-genius.html
I have published a few articles focused on African American contributions to chemistry, if you are interested in these resources. I published an editorial in Chem. Eng. News in 2009 on this topic as well.
Sibrina