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Invisible Women

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 I grew up in the 80s and 90s being told, over and over, that everyone was essentially the same. Treat everyone the same, expect the same, design for the same, that was the message. 

Reading Invisible Women has shifted that foundation more than I expected.

What struck me most wasn’t just the scale of the data gaps Caroline Criado Perez exposes, but how quietly and consistently they shape everyday life. Page after page, I found myself realising that “treating everyone the same” often means treating everyone as if they were one very specific type of person, and ignoring everyone who doesn’t fit that mould. It’s not malicious, but it is deeply consequential.

The book made something click for me: recognising and celebrating differences isn’t about division, it’s about accuracy. It’s about fairness. If we don’t include people properly when we collect data, we end up designing a world that literally doesn’t see them. And once you see that, you can’t unsee it.

I’ve always been anti positive discrimination, mostly because it didn’t seem any fairer than negative discrimination. This book helped me understand why it’s sometimes necessary. If the playing field has been uneven for that long, pretending it’s level now doesn’t make it so.

This book didn’t just teach me new facts; it changed the way I think about fairness and what it means to build a world that works for everyone. I’m genuinely grateful for that.

Caroline Criado Perez 
ISNB: 978-1784706289

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