The Exceptions

Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science

By: Kate Zernike

Narrated by: Kathe Mazur

A New York Times Notable Book

As late as 1999, women who succeeded in science were called “exceptional” as if it were unusual for them to be so bright. They were exceptional, not because they could succeed at science but because of all they accomplished despite the hurdles.

“Gripping…one puts down the book inspired by the women’s grit, tenacity, and brilliance.” —Science
“Riveting.” —Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Gene

In 1963, a female student was attending a lecture given by Nobel Prize winner James Watson, then tenured at Harvard. At nineteen, she was struggling to define her future. She had given herself just ten years to fulfill her professional ambitions before starting the family she was expected to have. For women at that time, a future on the usual path of academic science was unimaginable—but during that lecture, young Nancy Hopkins fell in love with the promise of genetics. Confidently believing science to be a pure meritocracy, she embarked on a career.

In 1999, Hopkins, now a noted molecular geneticist and cancer researcher at MIT, divorced and childless, found herself underpaid and denied the credit and resources given to men of lesser rank. Galvanized by the flagrant favoritism, Hopkins led a group of sixteen women on the faculty in a campaign that prompted MIT to make the historic admission that it had long discriminated against its female scientists. The sixteen women were a formidable group: their work has advanced our understanding of everything from cancer to geology, from fossil fuels to the inner workings of the human brain. And their work to highlight what they called “21st-century discrimination”—a subtle, stubborn, often unconscious bias—set off a national reckoning with the pervasive sexism in science.

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who broke the story, The Exceptions chronicles groundbreaking science and a history-making fight for equal opportunity. It is the “excellent and infuriating” (The New York Times) story of how this group of determined, brilliant women used the power of the collective and the tools of science to inspire ongoing radical change. And it offers an intimate look at the passion that drives discovery, and a rare glimpse into the competitive, hierarchical world of elite science—and the women who dared to challenge it.

Critic reviews

"Kathe Mazur’s assured performance enhances the author’s in-depth account of 16 female tenured scientists who challenged the pervasive gender-based discrimination taking place at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the 1990s. In this compelling production, which has the life and work of Dr. Nancy Hopkins at its center, Mazur’s voice guides listeners through a “thousand tiny cuts” spanning disciplines, degree programs, and institutions throughout the twentieth century. Dr. Hopkins’s gradual journey to awareness mirrors those of her many contemporaries, and their frustration and internal struggles are evident in Mazur’s voice. Her well-modulated delivery of scientific discoveries in genetics and molecular biology makes the concepts easier to absorb. This is a galvanizing account for listeners who advocate equity, diversity, and inclusion in all professions."

Essential Reading

A deeply evocative book which led me through my assumptions in a way that produced clear insights. The research involved in producing this work is of the highest caliber. The presentation of the material is stunning in how complex social and scientific concepts are explained so neatly. The entire book is interesting. Five stars plus!

Facts and eye opening material

Showed a story that you never knew or maybe you did but it need told and if you love science it makes you wander how long these stories have lasted

Full on saddening, maddening and gladdening Wow!

Wow! I could not put this down!
What a story. Read like a thriller. Science’s #MeToo moment!
Enraging. Infuriating. Full on saddening, maddening and gladdening!
Excellent!

prove it again

Its the prove it again and again problem. read this book and let us stop proving it.

Unbelievable women

For those of us who came after or overlapped only with some of the challenges these women faced, it is remarkable that they accomplished what they did. I’d like to think these battles are over but on personal experience I know that they’re not they’re getting better. Kudos to this book for sharing a path in terms of how to rectify that.