Science, historically, has been a man's field. With few exceptions, well-educated, eminently capable women scientists have traditionally been relegated to less influential positions, working as laboratory assistants or assistant professors while their male counterparts receive tenure, recognition, and salary increases. What are the reasons for this continuing exclusion of women from science's "inner circle"? The Outer Circle: Women in the Scientific Community is a groundbreaking sociological study of the place of women in the largely male-dominated world of modem-day science. It explores the subtle alienation of women scientists-and its profound effect on their work. Though the number of women in science has virtually tripled in recent years, women scientists remain an unrewarded minority, and their contributions still lag far behind. Why do women publish roughly half as much as comparable male colleagues? Are women's scientific careers hindered by the demands of family life? How big a role does sexism play in the workplace? Are women less productive in the laboratory? Are men better at theoretical reasoning than women? To answer these and other important questions that arise in the discussion of gender-related differences in salary, experience, achievement, and recognition. The Outer Circle presents the most recent comprehensive research on the topic as well as three candid and revealing interviews with accomplished women scientists. The interviewees- Salome Waelscn, Andrea Dupree, and Sandra Panem-are all highly respected scientists: Waelsch is professor of genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Dupree is associate director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Panem, once a research scientist at the University of Chicago, is currently a venture capitalist specializing in biotechnology for Salomon Brothers. The wide range of experience represented by the interviewees and the sociological research presented in the individual chapters creates a complete picture of the discriminatory elements of modem science. Although the symptoms of discrimination can be explained in any number of ways-and the authors investigate these thoroughly-it is depressingly clear that there is an institutionalized "old boy network" that underlies the foundation of modem science, and it is always difficult for a woman to break these subtle barriers. Difficulties in being published mean difficulties in obtaining monies for research, difficulties in becoming tenured, and difficulties maintaining a productive laboratory-all of which contribute to the myth that women scientists are less productive than men. The Outer Circle's concluding chapter presents the most compelling explanation for gender-based discrimination in the sciences. In what they call "a theory of limited differences," Jonathan R. Cole and Burton Singer reveal how the very small disparities at every stage of a woman scientist's career combine to create a subtle yet virtually unassailable barrier to success. Their controversial theory is certain to alter the perception of women in science and all other professions as well. The Outer Circle is an expert sociological study of the complex dynamics that exist in the world of contemporary science and a powerful document for reform.