Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

Book Review

Talk about an infuriating book!

Invisible Women dives DEEP into the data biases that exist in our society. As the author points out early in the book, modern-day institutions - from healthcare, to transportation to public policy - base their inherent structure on the idea of men (and specifically white men) as the default human. When in reality, women - who make up half the population - often have very different needs than men. But instead of acknowledging that fact, much of our world views women as “niche.”

I found the chapters on medicine particularly interesting. Research has consistently shown that symptoms for common illnesses as well as preventive care measures - for things like heart attacks and strokes - are tailored to the male experience. Whereas men often experience “Hollywood heart attack” symptoms of chest pain along with leg/arm pain, women often present very different symptoms - like stomach pain, nausea and fatigue - which oftentimes leads doctors to misdiagnose female patients (women are 50 - 60% more likely than men to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack). Furthermore, standard medical tests - like the electrocardiogram and physical stress tests have proven less conclusive in women. Not to mention, aspirin, which is often prescribed to patients at risk for heart disease is actually proven to be more harmful than beneficial to women.

A major reason the data bias in medicine continues to exist on such a wide scale, is that women typically make up a minority (or are left out entirely) of medical studies.

A few statistics I found particularly interesting:
—Research shows that women typically estimate their intelligence accurately, while men typically view themselves as more intelligent than 2/3rds of the population.
—96% of homicides worldwide are committed by men.
—93% of Venture Capitalists are men and “men back men.”
—Cars are designed for the default human (aka men), which means women, who are often smaller than men, are 47% more likely to be seriously injured and 71% more likely to be moderately injured in a car accident.

While the content of this book is admittedly disheartening - and at times, down right depressing - the first step in inspiring change is acknowledging the problem. If you enjoy research-heavy reads, definitely give this one a go. However, if you don't love data-driven books, you may want to skip this one.

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