Ever feel like the world is just not designed with you in mind? Like the office is always freezing, or your phone is a bit too big for comfort? You’re not imagining things. Caroline Criado Perez’s book, “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men,” dives deep into the data gaps that lead to women being overlooked in all sorts of everyday scenarios. This book is a must-read for anyone curious about why things are the way they are and how we can make the world a better place for everyone.
“Invisible Women” isn’t just another book; it’s a revelation. Criado Perez uses solid data to show how systemic biases subtly (and not-so-subtly) impact women’s lives. Here’s a sneak peek at some jaw-dropping stats and insights from the book:
Key Stats and Insights:
- Healthcare Disparities:
- Did you know women are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed after a heart attack? That’s because most medical research is based on male bodies.
- Many medications are tested on men, leading to dosage recommendations that can be all wrong for women.
- Workplace Inequality:
- Office temperatures are usually set to keep men comfortable, leaving women shivering. This is based on a metabolic rate formula from the 1960s using the resting metabolic rate of—you guessed it—a man.
- Car crash test dummies are typically modeled on the average male body, making women 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a crash.
- Public Transportation:
- Women are more likely to rely on public transport and make multiple stops in a single trip. Yet, transport systems often focus on direct routes catering to a male commuter pattern.
- Economic Impact:
- The unpaid labor women do around the world is estimated to be worth a whopping $10.9 trillion annually. This includes everything from childcare to eldercare, often invisible in economic metrics.
- Women do 75% of the world’s unpaid care work, yet this essential contribution is largely ignored in economic calculations.
- Urban Planning:
- Ever notice how snow clearing prioritizes roads over sidewalks? This disproportionately affects women, who are more likely to walk or push strollers. Some cities are waking up to this and trying “gender-equal snow clearing.”
- Technology and Data:
- Voice recognition software is 70% more likely to understand male voices. Training data sets are predominantly male, leading to this bias.
- Smartphones are designed for larger hands, which are more common in men. Women, with generally smaller hands, often find these devices cumbersome.
Women build bridges 