Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

Feminist author, journalist, and activist, Perez is a graduate of Oxford University and student of feminist economics at the London School of Economics. In this book, she relies on both personal experiences and her academic background to make her argument accessible to non-specialists. Born in Brazil, Perez lived in several countries before settling in the UK. That international experience additionally provides her with first-hand knowledge of the role of women in other non-western cultures. Additionally, after leading campaigns to increase the presence of female experts in the media and to retain women on British banknotes, Perez faced sustained sexual harassment on social media, giving her a window into what women confront in the public sphere when they challenge the male standard.

Perez backs up her case with statistics and academic studies. She provides the reader with multiple examples of the gender data gap and its real-life consequences. Using sarcasm and humor, Perez highlights the commonality of discrimination against women. She pokes fun at the inability of men to imagine the feminine perspective and exposes absurd excuses for not including half of the world’s population in data. She also personalizes the result of such discrimination with the stories of particular women.