Boss Ladies of Science; Phillip Marsden

Female scientists and their achievements are celebrated in Phillip Marsden’s follow up to Boss Ladies of Sport as he places physicists, chemists, computer scientists, primatologists, climate researchers, vaccinologists and more under his microscope.

Move over Einstein, Hawking, Newton, Pasteur, Fleming and co because the girls are in town. Asking the big questions and coming up with grand solutions, women are changing the scientific landscape and creating a brighter and better world. Fei-Fei Li, Katie Bouman, Michelle Simmons and Tebello Nyokong are amongst a growing group of curious chemists, clever computer scientists, incredible inventors, expert ecologists, probing physicists and awesome astronomers who are bossing the science world…

Children, especially young girls, are encouraged to embrace the world of STEM and consider it as a future career in Marsden’s collection of super scientists. Forget the Boss Ladies of Sciencetag, these are scientists who are simply bossing science - a fact that is hard to argue with considering one helped capture the first ever image of a black hole, another is the Director-General at the home of the Hadron Collider, and another is in charge of science for the whole of Australia.

Women of all ages and from all over the world are included in the gallery of thirty-two which is bang-up-to-date and features some real big-hitters in the scientific community. British duo Catherine Green and Sarah Gilbert developed a Covid-19 vaccine; twenty-two-year-old Kiara Nirghin (South Africa), used orange peel to invent a polymer that can store lots of water to help grow crops during drought; Siouxsie Wiles (New Zealand) studies bioluminescence to develop medicines; Fiona Wood (Australia), specialises in plastic surgery and invented the revolutionary ‘spray on skin’ to treat burns.

What all the women share in common is a love for science, a desire for the greater good and the bravery to fail and try again. Without going into significant depth or detail, this simplistic encounter with some of the great female minds that are saving and changing the world in some truly remarkable ways is a clever idea that will be warmly appreciated by the next generation of female scientists. Who knows, reading about them could be the inspiration for a future ‘boss scientist’.

I am slightly baffled as to who this book is pitched for. Organised alphabetically (based on first name), each scientist gets their own page complete with full colour illustration, positive quote and brief informative paragraph. On first glance, this suggests a non-fiction read that fits in at the lower end of primary school but much of the scientific vocabulary used and the concepts highlighted would be more accessible to older children and even then they may require adult explanation for children to fully understand. Younger readers will enjoy looking at the pictures and learning a bit about each scientist, older ones will find the simple introductions provide a starting point for further independent research.

What I am sure of though is the value of this book in recognising awesome female scientists, the opportunity it presents to have these women become widely used household/classroom names, and how it could empower young STEM-loving girls to follow in their footsteps.

Recommended for 7+.

With huge thanks to Hachette and Lothian for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review.