Mike

This is the second book in my journey to come to terms with the world that women live in - a world that is starkly different to my own. The first, Invisible Women, made me angry. This one was more subtle. I had to work a little harder to understand what Saini was driving at. Each concept is introduced with both sides of the story. First, the evidence for one particular hypothesis, then the evidence to the contrary. To begin with, this annoyed me. It was harder for me to synthesise what I should use to modify my own beliefs. Now, after finishing the book, I hold the opposite opinion. The approach taken by Saini is a genius method that reveals the complexity and genuine controversy within the scientific community. The answers aren't clear cut, they are nuanced and detailed. Investing the extra effort to understand this material is a rewarding experience that not only left me angry this time, but upset, sick and thoughtful in close to equal measures.

I very rarely write reviews, but I feel this book requires one. Reading this made me genuinely angry. As a young white male, beforereading this I was aware of some of the ways in which our world is not designed for women. The field in which I work is heavily male dominated, but there are some financial incentives in place to encourage more women, which I was somewhat resentful of. I agreed with more women in principle, but I didn't see why scholarships were the way to do that.

Now, however it is a different story. Reading this, Criado-Perez exposes the way in which our entire world is designed and structured to ignore wholesale the needs of 50% of our population. I was blown away by how insidious and ingrained this bias is - it pervades every aspect of what we do. This book made me ashamed of my own ignorance. It made me regret that I hadn't thought about this issue enough previously. After Criado-Perez shines a light on each issue, it makes it feel obvious, that it really was just staring me in the face and I couldn't see it. It made me angry that we allow this to happen.

I find Criado-Perez's work to be persuasive and meticulously researched. Every time I felt she would have been absolutely justified to make some snide comment about the blatant stupidity of the situation, she pulls up short and lets the data do the talking for her. This is one of the few books that I will be genuinely pushing my friends to read.

As an engineering student, elements of this book really resonated with me. I especially enjoyed the discussion of early precision, and how our understanding and drive has changed over time. The final chapter, exploring how imprecise things contain their own value and beauty really opened my eyes. I think it is important to remember that precision is not the be all and end all.