Invisible Women
Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
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4.4 • 82 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
#1 International Bestseller
“A rallying cry to fight back.” —Sunday Times (London)
Winner, 2019 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
Winner, 2019 Royal Society Science Book Prize
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 sometimes 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. Chapters here include:
• Can Snow-Clearing Be Sexist
• The Myth of Meritocracy
• The Henry Higgins Effect
• One-Size-Fits-Men
• Yentl Syndrome
• From Purse to Wallet
• Women’s Rights Are Human Rights
Perez writes in her preface, “It’s when women are able to step out from the shadows with their voices and their bodies that things start to shift. The gaps close. And so, at heart, Invisible Women is also a call for change. For too long we have positioned women as a deviation from standard humanity and this is why they have been allowed to become invisible. It’s time for a change in perspective. It’s time for women to be seen.”
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Feminist activist and journalist Criado Perez (Do It Like a Woman) exposes a persistent and disturbing data gap that contributes to discomfort, poverty, and risk for women. An assumption that "male" traits and experience are universal, she argues, is both cause and consequence of skewed designs in public spaces, government, medical studies, and the workforce. She produces solid evidence that the white male default infiltrates everything from artificial intelligence algorithms to disaster relief in Europe, Asia, and North America, leading to police officers who can't find protective gear that fits them, cellphone users whose devices are too large for their hands, and gender-neutral parental-leave policies that unwittingly disadvantage workers who have recently given birth or are primary caregivers. She draws on new research and interviews with experts in such disciplines as city planning that suggest considering women's needs in designs is more cost-effective, as well as more just. Criado Perez handles this material with subtle wit, calm authority, and a tendency to turn toward solutions. The book inaccurately treats womanhood as interchangeable with certain traits or experiences like small stature, having given birth to one's children, or facing gender discrimination in professional settings which will turn off some readers. But this is still a provocative, vital book.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic. Really make me see things in a clear light
I couldn’t put it down. She writes just like Malcolm Gladwell in such an educated informative and entertaining way.