There’s a long-standing tradition of male dominance in speculative fiction, but especially in Sci Fi. If you look back at the Golden Age sci fi writers, they are, if not all, than at least 95% male.
This has shifted in recent years, but there’s still an under-representation of both female authors in mainstream sci fi, fantasy and paranormal (with, of course, some very notable exceptions).
And there also seems to be a lack of strong female characters in these genres, lesbian and straight.
So my questions to you today: What can we do about this? Are there still factors holding back the increase of string female characters in speculative fiction – barriers in the book business itself? Culturally? Or…? And what are some of your favorite strong women in sci fi, fantasy, and paranormal books?