Oh my you really have to be of a certain age to remember "A Double Bind". What's the big deal? The date and the full title may help explain. In 1975, 36 years ago, "for the first time in America, minority women in science, engineering, medicine and dentistry met together to discuss their unique position as the most underrepresented and probably overselected group in the scientific disciplines".

Based on the conference, FairerScience friend Shirley Malcom, Paula Quick Hall and Janet Welsh Brown wrote "The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science".

Now 35 years later the Harvard Educational Review (sorry it's behind a paywall) has published a series of papers on "Unraveling the Double Bind." I'm hoping you can get access to it. Shirley and her daughter Lindsey Malcom (the first author) have written a fascinating piece "The Double Bind: The Next Generation" where they look at the progress that has been made and what needs to be done. I know I am a total sucker for mother/daughter pieces but you should know it is in great part because If the generations don't write together, we old folks will not have our assumptions challenged and the young folks will have a less nuanced understanding of the world from whence they have come. Lindsey and Shirley nailed it.

In addition there are several other interesting articles, including a very useful synthesis of the research on women of color in STEM, written by FairerScience friend Mia Ong (yes we here at FairerScience are very fortunate to have the friends we do) and her colleagues.

We ain't where we should be, but we ain't where we were.