Caroline Criado Perez
Invisibili

I begin writing this review with the personal pledge to do justice to a work of this caliber, on a topic, feminism, that is dear to me and one I am gradually approaching; thus, if you are reading this it means I hope I've risen to the challenge.

The essay has a very clear thesis: there exists a gender data gap, a lack of data concerning a “minority” which, however, makes up 50% of the global population(!), women. When such data exists, for some obscure and exceptional (in the sense of it being an exception) reason, they are systematically ignored or dismissed as extreme variations from the standard, which is male, because the world has been shaped by men for men and male experience is considered universal.

Caroline Criado Perez provides us with many examples of this, starting in the workplace where both the most commonly used tools and safety devices are designed based on male physical structures, compromising the usability of these tools for women, and even more seriously, increasing female mortality in terms of safety devices. Or again, in the average routes of public transport movements or in car transport safety. The author illustrates how in addition to harm, there is insult: according to many, it is not the tools that do not operate adequately when used by women, but women who are not suited to use those tools!

What she effectively tries to make us understand is that there are differences between men and women and that these should be more considered in achieving gender equality. This, she explains, happens more effectively when women are in decision-making roles, thus removing the thorn of the infamous and much-maligned pink quotas, useful in a not yet ideal society to balance the gender ratio, in politics, and corporate realities. But not only, it has been shown that when more women are in power roles, the management, for example, of a state, is better, and everyone benefits regardless. Despite this, she shows, a woman's political life in a male-dominated system is rife with discrimination and considerable injustices.

The differences between male and female bodies also serve as a backdrop to address the issue of medicine, which is dedicated to the entire fourth part of six in total, in which, to summarize, it is explained how the infamous gender data gap also affects medical research. The lack of study and the absence or deficiency of drug testing on female bodies, labeling it as too costly, despite women taking medications more often than men, has created a gap in medicine, with disastrous consequences in terms of diagnosis and treatment outcomes when it comes to women. Practically, for a woman, seeking medical consultation is more or less like relying on a shaman! And it seems paradoxical since women are known to have a higher life expectancy, but the hidden fact revealed is that men have a higher “healthy” or active life expectancy.

Another fundamental point well-analyzed in the book is the issue of meritocracy. Already in a world governed by capitalism, where even just being born into one family rather than another across the street predetermines your future, meritocracy is more a myth than a concrete thing. Like starting from midway through in a 100-meter race and coming first against a Usain Bolt, but born into poverty in a country where the social elevator is broken. For women, winning this race is even more difficult when they often find themselves putting their future and career in the hands of more or less consciously sexist and chauvinist men. Not to mention wage disparity (thankfully, already one of the better-known topics) and the higher expenses simply for being women. Not to mention that greater female participation in the active economy of countries would lead to greater personal economic independence and a notable increase in GDP. Thus, it does not fail to point out how the economic and taxation systems of various nations, due again to a lack of gender data, ultimately penalize women, and consequently, everyone.

The essay confronts us with something we face every day, but like the most invisible things, is well hidden in plain sight; no one ever pays attention, and that is the fact that women work much more than men, and it's unpaid work, caregiving, and domestic labor. And this is a significant burden that women, in all eras, have shouldered, reiterating the prehistoric dynamic of the “woman at home,” who cannot have other aspirations, often simply due to a lack of time and energy. This creates a vicious cycle where the lack of examples of women in prestigious positions automatically conveys the message that they are not meant for such things. Here too, it is all well-reported with the effective example of asking children to draw a scientist. In most cases, they will draw a man, even though things are gradually improving.

The introduction, however, is perhaps the most challenging part for those not familiar with feminist themes, and it addresses the controversial topic of the overextended masculine in language, inclusivity, and the consequent exclusivity, which starts with language, the means by which we all shape the world, and it is important for this reason, precisely because even the choice of words influences how we perceive reality.

In “Invisible” there is all the care and intelligence with which the author has gathered the data, analyzed it, from a perspective that a man could never conceive, being unaware of female issues, and delivers it in a very flowing and accessible text, not lacking a slight dose of irony and sarcasm. On every page, every paragraph, every statistical data enumerated, my thought has always been the same: okay, I want to know more, because the more I read, the more I realize there's a world of data I ignored until yesterday, and I am at least curious to know the level of gender injustice we are at, what has been done and what is still to be done (spoiler: a lot).

This is an essay that would be nice for everyone to read: women, to understand more consciously and focus, with data in hand, on what they might have only intuited throughout life, and it's a strong intuition nonetheless; men, to realize that in this society there is a gap, that they possess privileges, which are sometimes taken for granted simply because of the dear, old conservative rule of “it’s always been this way,” and to try to dismantle them.