Authors discuss book on science and definitions of merit

Image:  Science is a meritocracy. The merit of scientists’ ideas matters much more than whether a scientist is Black or white, a man or a woman, and is gay or straight. Right? Not so fast, says a new book, Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering (University of Chicago Press). The book is by two scholars of work and gender. Mary Blair-Loy is professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. She is the author of...