Just finished reading Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, by Caroline Criado Perez. It’s a fascinating look at how a particular bias (that men are the “default” humans) shapes our world. Even when the bias is unintentional, the consequences for women can be very real.
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Invisible Women discusses the “data gap:” in a lot of cases, women were not studied or even considered. “Men go without saying, while women go unsaid.” Thus we get fitness trackers that monitor all kinds of health-related data — but not menstrual cycles. Phones that most men (but not most women) can comfortably use one-handed. Seat belts and other safety features designed to fit the average-sized man. Tools and gear that men (but not women) can comfortably use. And economic policies that don’t take into account the unpaid labor of child-rearing and elder care, overwhelmingly done by women.
The most rage-inducing chapters are the ones about the medical system. Drug testing and other studies are still largely done on men, so we really only know if they’re safe and effective for men. If a drug worked mostly on women, it might not get past the first round of trials. One particularly arresting study had parents listen to two recorded baby cries, and were told that one was a boy and the other a girl. They consistently rated the “boy” as being in more distress — which has major implications when women try to get their pain or other symptoms taken seriously. Men who report pain are more likely than women to receive painkillers, while women in pain are more likely than men to be prescribed anti-depressants instead.
Among the more amazing stories: In the rebuilding after the Gujarat earthquake, planners failed to include kitchens in the replacement homes. No, I don’t know where they thought food comes from. In another example, aid workers in poor countries offered to replace stoves that filled homes with toxic smoke — but not considering that the new stoves were more time and labor intensive, two resources already stretched thin for the women, so they went back to the old ones.
What comes shining through is that representation matters. This last item isn’t from the book, it’s just to illustrate that if only one demographic group is involved in decision-making, they don’t even know what information is missing. Which leads to situations like….this:
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From ZenTrainer:
This is a good one by Irishwitch in KBoddye's diary, I’m running against an anti-LGBTQI zealot.
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