In most of Hazelwood’s novels, she examines the many invisible challenges that women face during their attempts to pursue careers in fields relating to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This issue manifests in a wide variety of ways, whether in social and professional power dynamics; competition for funding, jobs, and recognition; or through instances of blatant sexism and misogyny. While Hazelwood habitually portrays a nuanced view of the issues that many women face in this context, the narrative structure of Not in Love is designed to subvert expectations, for although the character of Florence has undoubtedly suffered from such injustices, she is also guilty of unethical behavior to compensate for the systemic biases that she faces.

Hazelwood also makes it a point to develop Rue as a female protagonist who is lucky enough to be employed by a woman she admires, unlike many of the author’s other protagonists, who are young women with colleagues and employers who are mostly men. By contrast, Rue believes Florence to be a strong, competent woman who fought for her patent and managed to overcome systemic misogyny in order to build Kline.