5 min read

Invisible Women

Throughout this assignment, I wanted to take the opportunity to read a book I never had time to read, Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. The book is about uncovering the data bias which makes the world an unequal and in some cases unsafe place for women to reside. I do think that a fully equal world will never be fully possible, but as an aspiring design engineer, I want to design for people and when around 50% of the population is ignored something must be done about it.

I purchased it a few years ago in the hope to gain inspiration for a potential final-year project.

Albeit going a very different path with that, this book was the main drive behind this chosen section of my blogs. I have been shocked, I have cried, I have been angry and I have laughed (mainly out of irony). I would love to share with you some of those moments in this blog today.

Stab Proof Vests

In 2018 a female police officer in Spain faced disciplinary action for wearing the women's bullet-proof jacket she bought for herself (cost €500 by the way) because the standard-issue men's jacket did not fit her. Pilar Villacorta, women's secretary for the United Association of Civil Guards explained to the Guardian that the overly large jackets leave female police officers doubly unprotected: they don't cover them properly and they 'make it hard for female officers to reach their guns, hand-cuffs and telescope batons.'

When it comes to front-line workers, poorly fitting PPE can prove fatal. In 1997 a British female police officer was stabbed and killed while using a hydraulic ram to enter a flat. She had removed her body armour because it was too difficult to use the ram while wearing it. Two years later a female police officer revealed that she had to have breast-reduction surgery because of the health effects of wearing her body armour. After this case was reported another 700 officers in the same force came forward to complain about the standard-issue protective vest. Although the complaints have been coming regularly over the past twenty years plus, little seems to have been done. British female police officers report being bruised by their kit belts; a number have had to have physiotherapy as a result of the way stab vests sit on their bodies; many complain there is no space for their breasts. This is not only uncomfortable, but it also results in stab vests coming up too short, leaving women unprotected. Which rather negates the whole point of wearing one.

The Gap in Medicine - Misdiagnosis

Michelle suffered from urgent, painful, frequent, and sometimes bloody bowel movements for twelve years before finally receiving a diagnosis. She kept her pain a secret until it became unbearable, fearing she was dying. Michelle consulted multiple male doctors who repeatedly confirmed that she was not pregnant, but told her to "take aspirin and rest". It was not until she saw a female general practitioner that she discovered that the left side of her colon was diseased, and her delay in treatment had increased her risk of colon cancer.

Unfortunately, Michelle's experience is not uncommon. Misdiagnoses are a result of a medical system that systematically discriminates against women, leaving them chronically misunderstood, mistreated, and misdiagnosed. The problem begins with how doctors are trained and educated. Historically, medical education has focused on a male "norm," assuming that male and female bodies did not have any fundamental differences beyond size and reproductive function. This has led to the view that anything outside of this male "norm" is an anomaly.

A very real example of this today is a heart attack. "Women are much more likely to have atypical heart attack symptoms," says Dr Lili Barouch, director of the Johns Hopkins Columbia Heart Failure Clinic. "So while the classical symptoms, such as chest pains, apply to both men and women, women are much more likely to get less common symptoms such as indigestion, shortness of breath, and back pain, sometimes even in the absence of obvious chest discomfort."

Sex differences are present in every tissue and organ system in the human body and in the severity of many human diseases. Treating female symptoms as abnormal simply because they do not conform to the male norm has serious consequences for women's health. This is because there is a data gap, female bodies (both human and animal) are considered to be too variable and burdensome to interact with most clinical trials. One reason is because of their menstrual cycles which can impact the way they respond to medication… even though most cis women menstruate so it would be worthwhile to understand these effects.

The Gap in Medicine - The Menstrual Cycle

Menstrual cycles are actually a pretty cool area of research. My cycle can tell me when I will be the most productive, when I am ill or even help me regulate when to take anxiety medication. Our female hormones are there to serve us and, when utilised correctly, can be used to take full advantage of what our bodies can do at each stage. The problem is, we're not educated on this stuff. It has to be all pretty much self-taught and a lot of the time, due to lack of research, doctors aren't taking the full potential of seeing a women's menstrual cycle as a physical indicator of what might be going on in our bodies.

The Gap in Medicine - The Menstrual Cycle - A Solution

This reminds me of an exhibition I saw at London Design Week 2022. It was a Royal College of Art Product Design Exhibition. The product which comes to mind is called Muse, by Célia Marchessaux.

"Muse is a collection of tools that address different challenges within a woman’s journey through life. The narrative navigates from puberty to womanhood and targets two different leverage points: Sex Education and gynaecological appointments.

Muse answers real-world challenges in a society which shies away from Sex Education and surrounds the topics of body and sexuality with shame.

Muse empowers girls to face their bodies and break their silence in order to shape a new generation that feels differently, challenges oppressive perspectives and has a healthier relationship with bodies and sexuality.

The first kit contains educational objects and cards that address ‘taboo’ topics to support young girls to gradually become informed and empowered women.

The second kit is tackling women's healthcare and is composed of a gown and an interactive stand. The gown empowers women to only show the parts that need to be seen during a gynaecology appointment, while the stand familiarizes patients with gynaecological tools."

-Célia Marchessaux, designer of Muse

I was so inspired by this product, I thought YES! Finally, someone who is addressing the lack of education in women's health. We need more products like this on the market. I have linked her project page in 'Extra Resources to Check Out'. I really recommend you go check it out, it's truly inspirational.

Final Words

Okay, I got a little sidetracked, but this is what this book does to you. It makes you want to find out more and do more. The list of ideas and future products this book alone has enlightened me with is incredible. I have linked the book below, I would really encourage everyone to read it!

"Invisible Women" is a powerful and eye-opening book that exposes the disheartening reality of gender bias in the tech industry and beyond. The book shows how women are systematically excluded from data and design, resulting in products and services that are ill-suited to their needs. The book is a call to action for everyone to become more aware of gender bias and to work towards creating a world that is inclusive and equitable for all.