A review by george_odera
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

5.0

Very compelling read.

Perez shows how that our daily lives are male by default, and female by niche. From the seemingly innocuous things such as smartphone sizes, voice recognition glitches, and snow-clearing, to the most consequential such as drug prescription, occupational safety, and macroeconomic planning, male bias permeates almost every aspect of our life. The depressing result is that women have to bear the burden of decisions that are made without regard to 50% of the human population.

Reading this book as a man triggered some embarrassment at the privileges that accrue to me merely by being born male. Nonetheless, I take consolation in the fact that I am now apprised of inherent male bias of daily living, and I will take caution against projecting my personal experiences as if they mirror those of human beings in general. Simone de Beauvoir described the female gender as "the second sex", and reading this book, it is easy to see why her description couldn't be more strikingly appropriate. The book is a wake-up call to policy planners, medical researchers, entrepreneurs, corporations, and ultimately, men.

It's easy to see why this book was awarded the FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award 2019. A must read for any person with aspirations of power and influence.