Invisible women - why we finally need to close the gender data gap and transform the male-centered view of the world

“Men go without saying, and women don’t get said at all” - Caroline Criado Perez

Do you feel unseen, invisible? I did. Do you wonder why? Because you are. And why is that? Because our culture sees and has come to accept the male point of view, the male experience and male data as universal. This, however, isn’t obvious, instead we are all so used to it that we can’t see it. In fact, I only understood it through reading the Introduction to Caroline Criado Perez’ book “Invisible women: exposing data bias in a world designed for men” where she talks about the Default Male. In a perfectly laid out argument she shows how half of humanity became and remained invisible and how the male-unless-otherwise-indicated approach not only permeates our language(s) but the entire world view. The history of humanity, of art, literature, music and evolution itself have all been presented to us as objective facts. Yet - as she shows in her book - they all have been distorted by a failure to account for half of humanity, women, which has lead to a gender data gap and the perception of male data as universal. Lives of men have been taken to represent those of humans overall.

It’s 2024, aren’t we past this now?

Now one might argue that we are long past this point - sadly we are not. In 2021, as few as 22% of phase I trial participants in clinical studies were female in the US. In fact, women lost their lives due to that exclusion from medical research, as for example typical male symptoms for a heart attack differ from typical female symptoms and as such heart attacks in women went undiagnosed. Another example is menopause. Women still often don’t get the treatment that they need because doctors (including female doctors) are not well-educated on the topic, they simply don’t know better. Menopause a topic that affects half of the population is far from receiving the proportionate amount of medical research funds. This is a common pattern. A study of US research funds using data from 2022 revealed that illnesses disproportionately affecting women, all attract much less funding in proportion to the burden (as measured in life years) they exert on the US population than do other conditions.

What can you do about it?

Our world is designed for men by men. That needs to change now. With AI taking over an increasingly important and wide-spread role, we need to prevent this gender data gap from being perpetuated even further. AI trained on biased data learns bias - it simply is a mirror of our society. We need more awareness on this gender data gap. We also need to take measures to mitigate it. Here are some suggestions:

• educate yourself on bias mitigation (this article is a great start)
• If you play a role in building machine learning / AI systems, start with the questions in Table 1 (Design questions template for bias impact statement) of this article. It also worth reading as it gives a great overview over the topic.

Women’s point of view has been left out of the picture. As a result, men confuse their own point of view with absolute truth, and sometimes women do that too.

When we want to design a world that is meant to work for everyone, we need women in the room. That is why we need more women in tech - and we need to make sure that the women there encounter an environment that encourages them to share their perspectives and views. We need to make sure women are seen instead of invisible, and we need to help them thrive. This includes creating a work environment where they feel like they belong, they are seen and heard, and they are supported. We need men in positions of power that sponsor women and advocate for them to take on growth opportunities. We all need to become allies for each other to achieve a world of inclusion.

The case for diversity is not merely an ethical one but a business case: it increases financial success, innovation and productivity. But this remains a topic to explore more deeply in one of the future issues of this newsletter.

Disclaimer

Here diversity is only explored along the axis of gender - yet other factors like ethnicity also need to be taken into account to truly create a diverse and inclusive environment. In fact, women of color are far more severely impacted by gender data gap.

Studies and stats 🔢

Sad news but definitely helpful to know this is not just you, this is a valid and unfortunately common experience.

*Microaggressions are a form of everyday discrimination that is often rooted in bias. They include comments and actions—even subtle ones that are not overtly harmful—that demean or dismiss someone based on their gender, race, or other aspects of their identity. They signal disrespect, cause acute stress, and can negatively impact women’s careers and health.

Source: McKinsey: Women in the Workplace 2023 published in October 2023

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