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Some books inform. Some books inspire. And some books leave you changed. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez is one of those rare books that doesn’t just shake you awake, it compels you to see differently.
At its heart, this book is about absence. The absence of women in data. The absence of women in design. The absence of women in decision-making. But it’s also about what that absence costs us, not just women, but all of us. Perez’s central thesis is simple but profound: the world is built on data that overwhelmingly reflects male experiences. From urban planning to healthcare, from workplace policies to consumer technology, the default human is assumed to be male. And when women are left out of the data, they are left out of the design; and often, out of safety, access, and opportunity.
This isn’t just a gender issue. It’s a data integrity issue. It’s a design flaw. And it’s a missed opportunity for innovation, efficiency, and equity.
A Difficult Read - Because It Should Be
Reading Invisible Women is not always comfortable. It’s frustrating. It’s sobering. At times, it’s heartbreaking. But comfort rarely leads to change. Discomfort does. And this book is a masterclass in productive discomfort.
Perez doesn’t shy away from hard truths. She shows us how women are more likely to be injured in car crashes because crash-test dummies are modelled on male bodies. How voice-recognition software fails to understand female voices. How public transport systems ignore the reality of women’s trip-chaining and caregiving responsibilities. How medical research routinely excludes female physiology, leading to misdiagnoses and adverse drug reactions.
These aren’t isolated oversights. They are systemic. And they are solvable, if we choose to see them.
The Commercial Case for Inclusive Data
Beyond ethics and equity, Invisible Women makes a compelling case for the commercial benefits of closing the gender data gap. Perez cites research showing that female-led startups, despite receiving less than half the funding of their male counterparts, generate more than twice the revenue. Diverse leadership teams are consistently more innovative, because they’re better informed about the full spectrum of customer needs. Innovation, in turn, is strongly linked to financial performance.
The book also explores how investing in social infrastructure, like childcare and elder care, can yield significant economic returns. In the UK, such investment could generate up to 1.5 million jobs, compared to 750,000 from an equivalent investment in construction. In the US, investing 2% of GDP in care industries could create nearly 13 million jobs, most of which would go to women, boosting GDP and reducing the gender employment gap by half. These are not just social wins, they’re economic wins.
Lessons Beyond Gender
While Invisible Women focuses on the gender data gap, its lessons extend far beyond women. The same principles apply to other underrepresented groups - ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ communities, and more. The book is a powerful reminder that inclusive data leads to inclusive design, and inclusive design leads to better outcomes for everyone.
In a world increasingly driven by algorithms, AI, and automation, the stakes are high. If we train our systems on biased data, we don’t just replicate inequality, we amplify it.
Why This Matters for Us
- Inclusive design improves usability and safety.
- Inclusive data leads to smarter, more resilient decisions.
- Inclusive workplaces attract and retain diverse talent.
- Inclusive leadership drives innovation and growth.
Whether you’re in HR, strategy, product development, data science, or operations, Invisible Women offers insights that are directly relevant to your work, and your impact.
This book is not just about women. It’s about how we build the world, and who we build it for. It’s about the power of asking better questions, collecting better data, and making better decisions.
If you’re ready to be challenged, to be uncomfortable, and to grow, Invisible Women is essential reading.
