Gender Bias in Data:My Thoughts on Invisible Women

I recently read Invisible Women: Exposing the Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. Having received it as a birthday present a few years ago, it had since sat on my bookshelf, waiting for me to catch a break from university. A master’s degree and some free time later, I finished it 3 weeks ago.

The book cover to Perez’s Invisible Women.

‘The gender gap isn’t just about silence. These silences, these gaps, have consequences.’  (pX)

Throughout the book, Perez brings up some really interesting points about the gaps in data that lead to there being an invisibility of women, something which then has lasting impacts on equality. The data gap is often perpetuated by cultural and societal biases prioritising men’s experiences and needs over women’s. Often, data on key issues such as health, the workplace, and public life is not collected or analysed efficiently (if it is collected), meaning that it is difficult to develop policies and programmes that effectively address gender disparities.

I wanted to share 3 things from Invisible Women that I thought were particularly interesting (and atrocious):

The issue with toilets:

The way that public toilets are designed means that there is a male advantage. Despite the 50/50 floor space attributed to both genders, there is more space for men to relieve themselves than women. 

Why? 

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, male bathrooms tend to have both cubicles and urinals. Due to biological reasons, women are unable to use urinals. However, if more cubicles were placed in public female bathrooms the issue still won’t be resolved. 

This is because women take on average 2.3 times longer than men to use the toilet, becoming the second reason why there is a male design bias in toilet design. Women make up the majority of the elderly and disabled, two groups that do tend to need more time when using the toilet. Furthermore, due to society’s expectation that children are their mothers’ core responsibilities, they are more likely to be accompanied by them. Having baby- changing facilities is a long- established tradition in female bathrooms, and a number of women at childbearing age also face pregnancy and menstruation, all of which contribute to longer times taken in the bathroom.

To solve this issue, toilet design needs to consider these reasons and implement them. 

Car crash dummies:

Car design means that women are more likely to be seriously injured in an accident, despite men being more likely to get in one. 

Women tend to sit nearer to the steering wheel and the pedals - because on average, they are shorter. This, however, is not the standard sitting position and means that women are more vulnerable to injury. They also have less muscle on their necks and upper torso than men, making them more susceptible to whiplash. Due to their lighter bodies, they are prone to being thrown forward faster.

Why?

Car crash dummies have traditionally been based on the ‘average male’. Introduced in the 1950s, car crash dummies have been made using male muscle proportions and a male spinal column, both of which do not account for the ‘average female’. Even companies that have tested female dummies, get the proportions wrong - because women are ‘not scaled- down men’ (p190). They have lower bone density and there are differences in vertebrae spacing.

Going to the doctor:

Going to and being listened to by the doctor should not be seen as a privilege. Unfortunately, it is one which is only afforded to predominantly half the population. Branded Yentl syndrome, Perez discusses how women are ‘misdiagnosed’ and ‘poorly treated’ (p217) unless their symptoms conform to that of men, something which can sometimes prove to be fatal.

Why?

Because women experience different symptoms, even for health conditions that impact both sexes. For instance, women may not face typical heart attack systems such as chest and left- arm pains. Instead, they may present without any chest pain at all, and with stomach pain, breathlessness, nausea and fatigue, symptoms that have been branded as ‘atypical’ within medical circles. Unfortunately, this atypicality often means that women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men.

These three examples are just a few epitomising what Perez attempts to state - that there is a bias in a society which favours men. She does exactly what she sets out at the beginning of the book (and even the title) - to expose data bias in a world designed for men. Each chapter of the book brings together even more shocking examples of aspects of life that we only hear about from a male perspective. 

*All examples and quotes have been taken directly from Invisble Women by Caroline Criado Perez.