The book ('Our Women Scientists. How women co-created science in Yugoslavia') is conceived as a collection of articles about women scientists who have taken their field “one step further”. By this we mean women researchers, professors, innovators, authors of a significant scientific breakthrough or discovery, a patent, or women who have introduced new practices and methods in their academic field, founded an institute or department, or created the conditions for the development of new scientific disciplines.

The professional biographies of the 27 women presented in this book show what the pursuit of science actually means. The women’s scientific contribution is narrated through their work and their life stories, because the professional/public can never be separated from the private/intimate. The question of who does research can never be separated from what they research and how they do it. The essays also tell the story of the broader social contribution that women scientists have made, which goes far beyond narrowly defined scientific work. In this way, the book also aims to change the understanding of what science is as a process of knowledge production, as human labor, as social practice, and as vocation.