Abstract
For women scientists who have 'made it', there is no standard route to personal happiness and professional success, although a universal attribute is an enduring passion for science. Growing up, some scientists enjoyed parental support, whereas for others low expectations or a geographical disadvantage were a spur to achievement. Partners can be good, bad or indifferent, but having children is not a bar to success.
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Acknowledgements
I am deeply grateful to all the women I interviewed, for their frankness and generosity. I would particularly like to thank Joyce Taylor-Papadimitriou, my first interviewee, because she was one of the inspirations for the series and has been an inspiration to many women scientists.
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Watt, F. Women in cell biology: how personal lives shape careers. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 7, 378–380 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm1913
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm1913
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