Book Review: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

I learnt long ago that throwing data at people doesn’t change their opinions. After reading this book, I’m inclined to think that I might have been wrong. I wish I could carry around several hardbound editions of this book and throw them at anyone who says or does anything sexist. A well-aimed hardback to the bridge of the nose could work magic.

And it would count as throwing data, too. Of the 400 pages of this book, 70 are just the endnotes. Every other chapter has almost a hundred references. It’s an insanely well researched book about the gender data gap (not the gender gap) which pervades every walk of life.

Throughout history, starting from the ancient Greeks (their word hystera, meaning uterus, became the root of the word hysteria, which till the 19th century was considered a diagnosable medical condition to which women were predisposed), we have considered the male form as the default, the universal, and the female to be the niche, the exception. Throughout history, in the job market, urban planning, medicine, academia, the workplace, at home and in public life, we don’t know where the women stand. Because every tool, experiment, policy and every metric which directs our policy is predominantly male. It’s not surprising, then, that to many men, “bitches be crazy”.

Caroline Perez has shown remarkable restraint in limiting her book largely to the data gaps between the genders, while steering clear of any ideological or moral argument. And the data gap alone is enough. We don’t want women to be paid for care and household work simply because it’s fair - we want it because it’s good economics. We don’t want menstrual leaves simply because it would be the humane thing to do - we want it because it’s good healthcare. We don’t want more women in public office because of “feminism”, but because it’s good leadership.

A few weeks ago I went with my wife to get her phone repaired. It’s a small phone, perhaps one of the last that will fit her hands - and that’s why making it last was important. I did manage to get a funny story out of the visit to the service center, but now I realize that I wrote it exactly as a male engineer would - as someone who understands what drives the design of smartphones, and nothing more. If I had invited my lawyer wife to write it, she’d have written about how essential one-handed phones are in the courthouse, especially when your other hand is full of files, and particularly when it’s tough to buy women’s clothing with suitable pockets. She often wears a jacket only because it has pockets. Designers think women don’t have a problem with large phones because they all carry handbags.

This is only one of many examples of how difficult it is to see the female world (even for those of us with the best intentions) because there’s barely any signal that doesn’t reach you through male-tinted glasses. Even trying to take those glasses off is enough to make you appreciate the scale of the problem. And that’s pretty much what a good feminist needs.

I’m getting a sense of deja vu as I write this. Not too long ago, I wrote of Virginia Woolf’s writing that not once did it pit the genders against each other, and she cautioned her audience (future women writers) against bitterness and hatred. I see those signs here too. And I’ll say of this book what I said of A Room of One’s Own - a damn fine piece of scholarship.

If you’re any kind of leader, if you affect lives, you should have this book on your shelf. Maybe also keep a few hardbound copies hidden in your desk drawer.