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Finally got around to this one and I cannot recommend it enough - the section on healthcare alone is enraging but full of really helpful information. Basically, the premise of the book is that almost everything in the world has been created and designed using men as the "default" human - which means sex differences that affect everything from car safety to heart attack symptoms have been ignored. With excellent data and an easy-to-follow writing style, Caroline Criado Perez makes a vigorous case for putting women at the center of design and data for just about everything. We are, after all, half the population. Not that you'd know it from looking around at products, transit systems, the medical establishment, or any country's literary canon. Some insights from the book as a sampler: -Iceland changed it entire snow clearing program to account for gender differences in transit patterns, prioritizing pedestrian walkways which women were more likely to use, which resulted in a significant decrease in ER trips due to womens' (particularly elder womens') falls on slippery sidewalk ice and snow. -There are 0 free public toilets for women in Mumbai
-There are no mandates requiring employers to allow women to expense childcare costs for things like client dinners and late night pitches
-62% of third-trimester pregnant women do not fit the standard seatbelt design in cars
..And much much more - find it at a library near you!
Agreed! I read it last year. Even though I thought I already understood the premise in theory, reading about the facts and the practicalities of being a woman in a man-made world was actually shocking in a way I didn’t expect.
caroline criado perez is an absolute champ. she has a Substack account which i highly recommend.
Tbh i don't know about zero free toilets in Mumbai but I wouldn't ever use one they're usually disgustingly filthy and unsanitary. No one cleans them and it is a surefire way to get a UTI or get assaulted.