Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

This 419-page book perfectly highlights how gender bias can be found everywhere because most research and data collection does not take into account gender. Perez artfully explains, by way of example, that research findings are used to allocate funds and to make policy decisions. How can these decisions be made correctly if the basis for all the data has men as the default actor or participant? She concludes that this action alone creates “Invisible Women” to such a degree that it excludes women in the foundational structure of society.

Perez shares the “Plough Hypothesis,” which shows that farming machinery was designed for men who have more upper body strength than women. Communities that use this kind of equipment make men the wage-earner farmers. However, in other communities that use handheld tools like a hoe, women and men are both able to become farmers.

Perez details how everyday objects like smartphones and cars are designed for men. She explores bias in every aspect of society – that men are dominantly depicted on money, that there are more statues of men than women worldwide, and that men are represented in grammar and history books 3:1 compared to women. She even shows how snow shoveling and emoji design consider men the default sex. This book is a great read because it is so enlightening. It makes you realize how a gender bias is actually everywhere and it negatively affects women in a multitude of ways.