Pt. 1. The difference being a woman made. The quest for graduate education : Mary Calkins' contest with Harvard University -- The family claim : ties that bound Milicent Shinn -- The "intolerable choice" : Ethel Puffer's struggle with the marriage versus career dilemma -- Meritocracy in science : Margaret Floy Washburn's use of the myth -- "A little hard on ladies" : Christine Ladd-Franklin's challenge to collegial exclusion -- pt. 2. Collective portrait of the first generation. Origins, education, and life-styles -- Careers and contributions -- To the present -- Appendix A. Cameo portraits of selected women. Kate Gordon Moore -- Lillien Jane Martin -- Naomi Norsworthy -- Frances Hall Rousmaniere Dewing -- Theodate Louise Smith -- Helen Bradford Thompson Wooley.