'No, we cannot give the job to this woman. She is too young and tender, the strain of the field work would be too much for her.' The speaker is probably still alive and possibly still rejecting female candidates, as, shockingly, this is a quote from the 1990s. The Role of Women in the History of Geology, Special Publication number 281 of the Geological. Society, was published in the year 2007, the Society's 200th anniversary. Although devoted principally to historical times, women readers will find plenty to remind them of their own instances of brick walls and glass ceilings. During two centuries, the Geological Society has had but one woman president, Janet Watson. The volume acknowledges that some eminent women geologists are missing from its pages, citing Janet Watson, Doris Reynolds and Marie Tharp, of whom only the last two appear in the index. Could no contributors be found to give us an understanding of their roles? Surely, the first woman president of such an important Society is a significant event in the history of geology? And thereby at least merits inclusion in the index? It is optimistic to expect that there really will be a Volume Two to fill such lacunae.
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