Invisible Women : : Data Bias in a World Designed for men

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Introduction: The default male ; Part I. Daily life: Can snow-clearing be sexist? ; Gender neutral with urinals -- Part II. The workplace: The long Friday ; The myth of meritocracy ; The Henry Higgins effect ; Being worth less than a shoe -- Part III. Design: The plough hypothesis ; One-size-fits-men ; A sea of dudes -- Part IV. Going to the doctor: The drugs don't work ; Yentyl syndrome -- Part V. Public life: A costless resource to exploit ; From purse to wallet ; Women's rights are human rights -- Part VI. When it goes wrong: Who will rebuild? ; It's not the disaster that kills you.
"Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias, in time, money, and often with their lives. Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women​, diving into women's lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor's office, and more. Built on hundreds of studies in the US, the UK, and around the world, and written with energy, wit, and sparkling intelligence, this is a groundbreaking, unforgettable exposé that will change the way you look at the world."--provided by publisher.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Gave me a lot to think about submitted by Suzanne Wahl on August 7, 2019, 4:29pm The book does a great job of showing how seemingly "neutral" decisions can be biased (e.g., how big a crash dummy is; whether a city clears roads before sidewalks; who is considered "typical" and who is a special case).

I often find that non-fiction books like this can get repetitive, and I wish that the author had just written a long article. That was not the case here, where each section took the central premise to new areas of inquiry.

I agree with reviewer Suzanne W. submitted by lisa on July 20, 2020, 2:31pm The heart of this book is in its fleshing out of details, as applied in a variety of contexts. Good to see examples of thorough investigation of bias.

With luck readers can extrapolate to posit that bias in other cultural ways/systems is just as thorough as sexism.

Required Reading submitted by LMahlmeister on August 6, 2021, 9:33am You come away with a thoroughly detailed understanding of exactly how deep the societal constructs are designed to benefit men as the default human across the world. As a female, I always had a the general idea that this world was not built to suit me in any way. The data in this book just fleshes that idea out ad nauseum - but I think that's the point. It is a lot of information, but very readable.

Read with a critical eye submitted by Diananana on July 22, 2022, 9:51pm I haven't finished reading this book yet, but have found something that is worth noting. My years as a high school debater taught me to question whether a conclusion is supported by the evidence. I dispute the author's conclusion in the paragraph that begins at the bottom of page 100:

"We teach brilliance bias in children from an early age. A recent US study found that when girls start primary school at the age of five, they are as likely as five-year-old boys to think women could be 'really really smart', But by the time they turn six, something changes. They start doubting their gender. So much so, in fact, that they start limiting themselves: if a game is presented to them as intended for 'children who are really, really smart', five-year-old girls are as likely to want to play it as boys -- but six-year-old girls are suddenly uninterested. Schools are teaching little girls that brilliance doesn't belong to them."

The conclusion that schools are responsible for this change is not justified by the evidence presented. There are numerous other agents that can influence children's thinking--parents, older children, advertising, gendered toy aisles in stores to name a few. Did the study referenced control for these other variables? If so, how?

Up until this point in the book, I felt the cases described reflected by own lived experience. Now I'm wondering if confirmation bias caused me to overlook other instances of misplaced conclusions. This is an interesting and worthwhile book. I just recommend that you test conclusions against the evidence provided.

Interesting read but not as rigorous as I'd like submitted by chowcy on July 3, 2023, 10:03am Easy to read. The author shows multiple examples of the bias women face by being the "other" instead of the human default, like men do. The examples span career, health care, etc. There are numerous examples and the main point of the book is hammered in at the end of each chapter. Made me a bit mad sometimes to see the inequalities, tbh. However, like one reviewer pointed out, I do think there were times when the author did a sloppier job supporting her points, instead relying on the reader already having her viewpoints to make causal connections. I don't think this book would be as convincing for people who aren't already feminists. In fact, it could be grating