Snippets about: Feminism
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The Hidden Gender Bias in Tax Systems
Tax systems around the world often have implicit or explicit gender biases that disadvantage women and reinforce gender inequalities:
- Joint filing of income taxes for married couples, as practiced in many countries like the US, can create a "marriage penalty" for women, as their income is taxed at a higher marginal rate than if they filed individually.
- Tax credits or deductions for dependent spouses, as provided in countries like the UK and Japan, can discourage women's labor force participation and reinforce traditional gender roles.
- Consumption taxes like VAT often apply to goods and services that women disproportionately consume, such as childcare, menstrual products, and basic necessities, making them more regressive for women.
- Tax systems that favor capital gains, property, and corporate income over labor income tend to benefit men, who own more wealth and assets than women.
- Lack of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis in tax policy-making means that these biases often go unrecognized and uncorrected.
Section: 5, Chapter: 13
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Strategies to Close the Gender Gap in Tech
To create a more inclusive tech industry and unbiased algorithms, we need:
- Active recruitment and retention of women in STEM education and careers
- Unconscious bias training for educators, managers and HR professionals to combat sexist stereotyping
- Blind resume screening and structured interviews to reduce bias in hiring
- Transparent and equitable compensation structures to close the gender pay gap
- Clear anti-harassment policies and reporting mechanisms to create safe work environments
- Flexible work arrangements and family-friendly policies to support work-life balance
- Intentional collection and use of diverse, representative datasets to train unbiased AI
- Algorithmic audits and impact assessments to identify and correct for bias in AI systems
- Inclusive user research and testing to design products that work for diverse users
- Diverse leadership and governance to ensure accountability and align AI with societal values
Section: 3, Chapter: 9
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Pregnant And Prosecuted - The Legal Jeopardy Of Carrying To Term
A patchwork of state laws, emboldened since the fall of Roe, increasingly criminalize adverse pregnancy outcomes and police the behavior of pregnant people. These include:
- Homicide and abuse charges for drug use, accidents, or suspected self-harm during pregnancy
- Civil lawsuits enabling state control of medical decisions (forced C-sections, surgery, etc.)
- Removal of "life of the mother" exception for ending ectopic or dangerous pregnancies
Low-income women and women of color are disproportionately targeted, reflecting America's long history of reproductive control of marginalized groups. With embryonic/fetal personhood on the rise, all pregnant people are increasingly treated as potentially criminal or suspect - guilty until proven innocent.
Section: 3, Chapter: 9
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Rosabeth Kanter's Radical Idea
In the 1970s, when Rosabeth Kanter was asked to investigate why a sales force's newly hired women were struggling, she had a courageous insight - being the "only one" in a group is a major disadvantage. Kanter called this phenomenon "tokenism."
Kanter realized that women were held back not because of their individual abilities, but because vastly outnumbered in a male-dominated workplace. As "tokens," women faced exaggerated scrutiny, pressure to represent all women, and exclusion from the real team.
Her radical solution was that companies should ensure women make up at least 35-40% of a group - what she called the "critical mass." Only when women's representation reached this "magic third" would they be liberated from the disadvantages of tokenism and able to thrive.
Section: 2, Chapter: 4
Book: Revenge of the Tipping Point
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
The Economic Cost of Ignoring Women's Sanitation Needs
A Yale study applied a mathematical model to calculate the cost-benefit of installing public toilets for women to reduce sexual assault in Khayelitsha, a South African township. They found that increasing the number of toilets would result in a net savings, even after accounting for installation and maintenance:
- Currently there are 5,600 toilets for 2.4 million people, and 635 sexual assaults happen per year, at a cost of $40 million
- Doubling the number of toilets would decrease sexual assaults by 30%, saving $5 million per year in medical, legal and other costs
- This is a conservative estimate that doesn't even include the many additional health benefits and increased economic participation of women when they have access to safe sanitation
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Mothers Blamed Either Way In The 1950s
In the 1950s, medical advances meant women were more likely than ever to survive childbirth, as were their babies. However, cultural attitudes took a darker turn, with motherhood defined by impossible standards and contradictions:
- Working mothers were vilified, but many had to work to support their families
- Childhood issues from delinquency to autism were blamed on mothers
- Mothers were told to get electroshock therapy if they weren't completely fulfilled by motherhood
- Women who sought abortions were considered mentally ill
A miscarriage or two was tolerated as long as a woman eventually had children. If she had too many, psychologists suggested it was due to unconscious rejection of motherhood. Women were "neurotic" if they didn't love every minute of mothering but also neurotic if they miscarried. A cultural setup for failure.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
The Emotional Labor of Meaning
"With no cultural script to follow, the burden is on grieving women to make their own meaning - an extra layer of emotional labor."
Section: 4, Chapter: 14
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Trying To Do It All Perfectly Is Futile
The myth of "having it all" - a perfect career, family, body, marriage, and home - is not just unrealistic, it's destructive. No one can achieve perfection in every area of life simultaneously. Believing you should leads to inevitable feelings of frustration and failure. A more achievable goal is to do the things that matter most as well as you can. Reject the myth by embracing trade-offs:
- Leaving work at 5:30 pm to have dinner with your kids, then working after they're asleep
- Letting the house get messy so you can finish an important work project
- Choosing the school play over a professional conference
You can have a full, rich career and family life, but not if you try to do everything perfectly
Section: 1, Chapter: 9
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
The Vicious Cycle of Gender Bias in Heart Disease
Heart disease is often thought of as a "male disease", but it is actually the leading cause of death for women worldwide. However, women with heart disease face a vicious cycle of gender bias in medical care:
- Diagnostic criteria for heart attacks are based on male symptoms, so women's heart attacks are often missed or misdiagnosed as anxiety or indigestion
- Risk calculation scores underestimate women's risk of heart disease, as they are based on male-pattern risk factors and outcomes
- Clinical trials for heart disease treatments often exclude women or fail to analyze sex-specific effects, leading to less evidence-based care for women
- Women are less likely to receive aggressive treatment for heart attacks and heart failure, even when they have the same severity of disease as men
- As a result, women have worse outcomes and higher mortality rates from heart disease than men. Closing the gender data gap in heart health is crucial to saving women's lives.
Section: 4, Chapter: 11
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Invisible Labor of Women's Unpaid Work
Unpaid domestic and care work is overwhelming performed by women, yet it is excluded from conventional measures of economic activity like GDP. This exclusion renders women's labor invisible and devalues their contributions to society.
Estimates suggest that unpaid work could account for up to 50% of GDP in high-income countries and 80% in low-income countries. Unpaid care work is often seen as a "costless" resource to exploit, allowing governments to cut public services and shift the burden onto women.
Recognizing and valuing unpaid care work as "real" work is essential for gender equality and sustainable economic development. We need to close the gender data gap in economic statistics.
Section: 5, Chapter: 12
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Petrie Multiplier Effect for Women in Tech
In the early days of computing, women were well-represented as programmers. But as the prestige and pay of the field grew, women were actively pushed out:
- In the 1960s-70s, personality tests and hiring criteria were introduced that favored stereotypically male traits, like introversion and a singular focus on machines over people
- These criteria were not proven to be predictive of programming ability, but they shaped a stereotype of "anti-social nerds" as the archetypal coder that persists today
- Women who remained in the field faced rampant sexism and doubts of their competence, leading many to leave over time
Today, women make up only 25% of computing jobs. This gender gap stems not from innate differences, but from biased assumptions about what makes someone good at the work.
Section: 2, Chapter: 5
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Cute Fetus, Gross Fetus - The Duality Of Fetal Imagery In Politics
The anti-abortion movement has masterfully employed fetal imagery to further its cause since the 1980s. Fetal development is depicted as a seamless journey from conception to cherubic newborn. The fetus is shown as an independent being, with the woman's body erased. The humanity of the fetus is highlighted or downplayed as needed for maximum emotional impact.
The overall effect has been to change hearts and minds on fetal personhood. This makes sense, as the authors note, "Frequency of language use and imagery matters. The more frequent the language use or imagery, the more strengthening occurs." The fetus is now a symbol more than a biological reality.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
The Motherhood Mandate - Sacrificing Body And Soul For Baby
Dominant cultural scripts celebrate the self-sacrificing mother as an ideal to aspire to. Themes include:
- Magical thinking (if I want it enough, it will happen)
- Maternal instinct trumps medical advice
- Good mothers never "give up"
- Healthy baby is the only definition of success
- Mother's wellbeing (physical, mental, financial) is secondary to fetal/child welfare
Discounting quality of life as a factor in termination decisions While some find the mama bear trope empowering and believe a mother's love can defy biology, others feel trapped by the expectation to be an incubator at all costs. Unquestioned sacrifice can lead to preventable tragedy for mother and child.
Section: 4, Chapter: 13
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
The Dangers Of Excluding Pregnant Women From Studies
Pregnant women have historically been excluded from clinical trials and research due to ethical concerns about fetal harm and liability. However, this knowledge gap makes their care more dangerous:
- Medication dosages based on male bodies may be incorrect for women
- No data on drug interactions with pregnancy
- Women with conditions like epilepsy or cancer have fewer treatment options
- Racial disparities in research participation and outcomes
The chapter argues there are ethical ways to include pregnant people in research via observation, analysis of existing real-world data, and carefully designed studies. Doing so could save lives and improve care.
Section: 2, Chapter: 6
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
How Farming Technologies Shape Gender Roles
Ester Boserup, a Danish economist, proposed the idea that societies that historically used the plough developed more unequal gender norms than those that practiced shifting agriculture. The theory posits that:
- Plough agriculture favors male strength because operating the plough requires upper body strength and grip strength that women on average have less of
- Plough agriculture is less compatible with childcare than shifting agriculture, making it harder for women to combine farm work and family responsibilities
- Plough agriculture is more capital-intensive, favoring men who have more access to land, tools and draft animals than women
- As a result, in societies that relied on animal-drawn ploughs, gender roles diverged and men came to dominate economic and public life while women were relegated to the domestic sphere.
Section: 3, Chapter: 7
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Invisible Women of Science
Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, making up only 28% of the STEM workforce. This gender gap is not due to innate differences in aptitude, but to systemic barriers and biases that push women out of STEM:
- Gendered stereotypes that portray STEM as a masculine domain and assume that women lack the natural brilliance to succeed
- Lack of representation of women in STEM textbooks, media and popular culture, sending the message that STEM is not for girls
- Biased hiring, promotion and funding practices that favor men and penalize women, especially mothers
- Hostile work environments that tolerate sexual harassment, discrimination and unequal pay
- Lack of family-friendly policies and flexible career paths that force women to choose between STEM and family
Section: 3, Chapter: 9
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
A Loss Unacknowledged Is No Loss At All - Pregnancy Loss In The Workplace
Miscarriage and stillbirth are rarely eligible for bereavement leave, forcing employees to take sick or vacation days - if they have any. The lack of standard policies means loss parents are at the mercy of individual supervisors. Common issues include:
- No time off to physically recover or grieve
- Having to share private medical details to "prove" the loss
- Fear of professional consequences for taking "too much" time
- Insensitive comments from coworkers who don't understand the impact
- Policies that only apply after 20 weeks or for funerals/cremations
- Needing to revise projects or reduce workload while emotionally fragile
A handful of states and companies are expanding leave to cover pregnancy loss and fertility treatment, recognizing the physical and psychological toll. But millions still suffer in silence while corporate platitudes of "family friendly" policies ring hollow.
Section: 3, Chapter: 12
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
The Exploitative Side of the Beauty Industry
The nail salon industry predominantly employs immigrant women of color, often in exploitative conditions without adequate worker protections. Technicians are exposed to a cocktail of toxic chemicals linked to respiratory, reproductive and cognitive issues, but little research exists on safe exposure levels.
- Nail salon workers are seen as disposable by employers, with rock-bottom pay and few benefits
- Lax regulations mean salons often lack proper ventilation, protective equipment and safety training
- When women do suffer health issues, language and immigration status barriers make it hard for them to speak out
- Dangerous chemicals are used in products with little oversight because beauty standards pressure women to use them
Section: 2, Chapter: 6
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Abortion Surveillance State - When Medical Records Become Evidence
In 2021, a Nebraska mother and daughter were charged with illegal abortion and improper disposal of human remains based on their private Facebook messages. The daughter, 17 at the time, obtained abortion pills and allegedly buried the fetal remains. Their unencrypted conversations about the situation were turned over to law enforcement by Facebook's parent company Meta in response to a warrant.
As more states pass laws enabling citizens to sue anyone suspected of aiding an illegal abortion, digital surveillance of pregnant people is likely to increase. Period tracking apps, search histories, location data, and social media are all potential fodder for investigations. Medical privacy and freedom of speech are collateral damage in the war on reproductive rights.
Section: 3, Chapter: 9
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
How The Feminist Revolution Accidentally Hurt Schoolchildren
As new career opportunities opened up for women outside of teaching in the 1960s-1970s, the most talented female teachers increasingly left education for higher-paying professions like law, medicine, and business. The result was a "brain drain" where the average quality of teachers declined. Levitt and Dubner cite evidence showing that while nearly half of teachers scored in the top 10% on standardized tests in 1960, under 10% did by 1980.
This reduction in teacher quality, the authors argue, likely contributed to the puzzling 1.25 grade-level decline in student test scores from 1967-1980 (equivalent to erasing 3 months of learning per year). While well-intentioned, women's lib seemed to have an unintended consequence of worsening education for the next generation. The chapter highlights how social progress in one area can have surprising ripple effects in other domains.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Super Freakonomics
Author: Steven D. Levitt , Stephen J. Dubner
Masculine Defaults in Workplace Design
From uncomfortable uniforms to inconvenient bathroom setups, women are an afterthought in many workplaces designed around men as the default worker. For example:
- Standard US military uniforms only started being redesigned to fit women's bodies in 2011, previously leaving women with ill-fitting gear that restricted their movement and safety
- NASA spacesuits come in only medium, large and extra-large sizes, too big for most women astronauts. A planned all-female spacewalk was cancelled due to not having enough suits that fit.
- Offices are kept at temperatures suited to the male metabolism, an average of 5 degrees too cold for women who have lower metabolic rates and less insulating muscle mass
- Desks, chairs and equipment are sized for the male body, causing back and neck strain for many women who don't fit the standard proportions
Section: 2, Chapter: 5
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Politicians Set Unworkable Health Standards
"Politicians without medical expertise are setting unworkable standards that put pregnant people in danger."
Section: 3, Chapter: 10
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Equality At Work Requires Equality At Home
Women will only achieve true equality in the workplace when men achieve equality in the home. Women still do a disproportionate share of child care and housework, even in households where both parents work full-time. This "double shift" of paid and domestic labor holds women back from fully committing to their careers. Making your partner a real partner means actively co-managing the household, not just "helping out" occasionally. Couples who split child care and chores equally have stronger marriages, better sex lives, and more successful careers. It's a win-win for everyone.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
Women Systematically Underestimate Themselves
Multiple studies show that women underestimate their own abilities, performance, and qualifications compared to men. In performance reviews, women consistently give themselves lower ratings than their managers do. Men are significantly more likely than women to rate themselves as ready for promotions. Men apply for jobs when they meet 60% of the qualifications, while women only apply if they meet 100%. This hesitation leads women to miss out on the experiences and opportunities that propel careers forward.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
"A woman's work is never done - or counted"
"Globally women do three times the amount of unpaid care work men do; according to the IMF, this can be further subdivided into twice as much childcare and four times as much housework."
Section: 2, Chapter: 3
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Women Must Master The "Balancing Act"
Given the social penalties for successful, assertive women, many feel pressure to mute their accomplishments to be liked. But downplaying achievements at work doesn't serve anyone. Instead, women must master the "balancing act":
- When sharing a success, give credit to the team as well as claiming it for yourself ("I'm so proud of what we accomplished together").
- When asserting an opinion, do it with a smile and a friendly, collaborative tone.
- When negotiating, emphasize your communal motivations ("A raise will allow me to better provide for my family").
- When criticized, respond graciously ("I appreciate you taking the time to give me that feedback"). The goal is to find an authentic way to fulfill your potential without triggering the dislike that assertive women face.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
"Womenomics: The Costs of Excluding Women's Work"
"If we really want to start designing transport systems that serve women as well as men, it's no good designing transport infrastructure in isolation, cautions Sánchez de Madariaga, because women's mobility is also an issue of overarching planning policy: specifically, the creation of 'mixed use' areas. And mixed-use areas fly in the face of traditional planning norms that, in many countries, legally divide cities into commercial, residential and industrial single-use areas, a practice that is called zoning. Zoning dates back to antiquity (what was allowed on either side of the city walls, for example), but it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that we started to see the kind of explicit division of what could be built where that legally separated where you live from where you might work."
Section: 5, Chapter: 12
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Default Male in Urban Planning
Urban planning has historically catered to the default male - that is, plans are made around the travel and mobility patterns of men. This stems from a gender data gap, where the people (mainly men) designing transit systems don't think about women's differing needs. Women tend to make more frequent, shorter trips, often accompanying children or elderly relatives. Their mobility is constrained by their greater share of care-taking responsibilities.
However, city transit networks are often designed for commuters going to and from work, without accounting for women's trip-chaining to multiple destinations. Sánchez de Madariaga, an urban planning professor, notes that not collecting gender-disaggregated data leads to a male bias in infrastructure planning.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
"Women Are Not Just Smaller Men"
"Sex differences appear even in our cells: in blood-serum biomarkers for autism; in proteins; in immune cells used to convey pain signals; in how cells die following a stroke. A recent study also found a significant sex difference in the 'expression of a gene found to be important for drug metabolism'. Sex differences in the presentation and outcome of Parkinson's disease, stroke and brain ischaemia (insufficient blood flow to the brain) have also been tracked all the way to our cells, and there is growing evidence of a sex difference in the ageing of the blood vessels, 'with inevitable implications for health problems, examination and treatment'."
Section: 4, Chapter: 10
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
How the Male Default in Medical Research Harms Women
Women have been historically excluded from medical research, with serious consequences for their health.
Clinical trials have long used mostly male participants, assuming that results will apply equally to women. Even in female-prevalent conditions like chronic pain and autoimmune disorders, studies often fail to enroll enough women or analyze sex differences
Textbooks and medical education continue to treat the male body as the default, with women's health seen as a niche topic. As a result, women face higher rates of misdiagnosis, adverse drug reactions and unrelieved symptoms than men The male default in medical knowledge is not just scientifically inaccurate - it is deadly for women.
Section: 4, Chapter: 10
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Pervasive Problem of Potty Parity
The lack of adequate public toilet facilities for women is a global issue. Women often have to wait in long lines because there are insufficient female toilets, while men rarely queue. This is due to several flawed assumptions in restroom design:
- Providing equal floor space for male and female restrooms, even though urinals allow more men to use the facility at once
- Not accounting for women's need to use the toilet more frequently and for longer durations, due to biological factors like menstruation, pregnancy, and higher risk of UTIs
- Ignoring that women are more likely to be accompanied by children or elderly/disabled people they are caring for
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Progress For Women Has Stalled
Despite the gains of the women's movement, progress for women in leadership has stalled in recent decades. Women have been 50% of college graduates since the 1980s, but their representation in top jobs has barely budged. Women make up only 21% of U.S. Senators, 41% of first-level managers, and 6% of Fortune 500 CEOs. At the current pace of change, it will take over a century to reach gender parity in C-suite jobs. We need to accelerate progress by encouraging more women to "lean in" to their ambitions.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
Speaking Up About Gender Fuels Progress
To make progress toward equality, we need to start speaking up about gender issues, even when it's uncomfortable. Point out when women are being marginalized or held to different standards. Ask managers what they're doing to advance women and hold them accountable. Share stories of bias from your own experience. Simply stating the facts can be a powerful catalyst. The more we discuss these dynamics openly, the more we can change them. Staying silent only preserves the status quo.
Section: 1, Chapter: 10
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
"Don't Leave Before You Leave"
Many ambitious young women start limiting their careers, often subconsciously, years before having children. They turn down big projects, don't apply for promotions, and select careers with more flexibility - all to accommodate family demands they don't yet have. This is a mistake.
Sandberg advises women to go full force in their careers in their 20s and early 30s. When you eventually have children, make that decision with your full earning and advancement potential. Pursue every opportunity until a major life change is imminent. Don't make sacrifices prematurely for a hypothetical future. Your options will be better if you've achieved more in the meantime.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
The Pitfalls of "Pink It and Shrink It" Design
Too often, designers take a "one-size-fits-men" approach, creating products around the male body and then simply "pinking and shrinking" them for women as an afterthought. But this approach fails women:
- Women have different body proportions, center of gravity and grip strength than men, so products designed for male bodies can be uncomfortable, ineffective or even dangerous for women
- Women's menstrual, reproductive and menopausal health needs are routinely ignored in product design, from the lack of period trackers in early smartwatches to the dearth of research on how drugs affect women
- Products for women are often just men's products made smaller and cuter, without accounting for women's actual needs and preferences
- The lack of women in design roles means their perspectives are missing in the design process, resulting in male-biased products G
Section: 3, Chapter: 8
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The Gender Data Gap in Smartphone Design
Smartphones are getting ever larger, with the average screen size ballooning from 3.2 inches in 2010 to over 5.5 inches today. The average woman's hand is an inch smaller in width than the average man's, so large phones are harder for women to hold and use comfortably.
Women's pockets are on average 48% shorter and 6.5% narrower than men's, so large phones don't fit well in women's pockets, making them easier to drop and break. Women are more likely to suffer from repetitive strain injuries in their hands and wrists, which can be exacerbated by overextending to reach all parts of a large screen
Some features like facial recognition work less well for women, as the algorithms are often trained on mostly male faces
Despite being half the smartphone market, women's needs are rarely centred in phone design.
Section: 3, Chapter: 8
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The False Promise of Meritocracy
Meritocracy is a myth. Despite companies increasingly using supposedly objective measures like performance reviews and scores to evaluate merit, gender bias still creeps in:
- Women face gendered double standards, with qualities like assertiveness being penalized in women but rewarded in men
- Women receive more subjective negative feedback about their personalities, while men receive more constructive feedback about their work
- Women's performance ratings are more likely to be attributed to luck rather than skill
- White men are judged as more competent than equally performing women and people of color
The reliance on merit metrics and "objective" algorithms can actually deepen inequality, by laundering human biases through a veneer of neutrality. True meritocracy requires an honest reckoning with bias.
Section: 2, Chapter: 4
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Power of Expectations and Confidence
From a young age, girls absorb the message that they should strive to be compliant, quiet, and helpful. Boys, in contrast, are expected to be strong, confident leaders. These gendered expectations carry into adulthood and the workplace.
To break free, women must become more aware of the power of these ingrained expectations. Actively replace thoughts of "I'm not ready" with "I want to do that." Practice raising your hand in meetings and stating opinions confidently. Shift your thinking from "I'm lucky to have this job" to "I've earned this opportunity." Simply being aware is the first step to shedding limiting gender norms.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
The Minefield Of Language Around Pregnancy And Loss
The chapter explores how the lack of adequate language and the political baggage of existing terms make it difficult to discuss pregnancy loss. Key issues include:
- Lack of agreement on when life/personhood begins (conception, quickening, viability, birth)
- Clinical terms like embryo and fetus lack emotional resonance
- Colloquial terms like baby are emotionally loaded but politically fraught
- No good term for a "pre-baby entity with some emotions attached"
- Providers encouraged to mirror patient's language ("baby" vs "fetus")
- Patients often confused/upset by clinical terms like "abortion" or "products of conception"
The language choices, while seeming benign, are indicative of intent, emotion and politics. This rhetorical knot leaves those experiencing loss adrift.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
The Uneven Division of Unpaid Labor
Globally, women do significantly more unpaid work than men, and this disparity persists even as more women enter the paid workforce. On average, women do 4.5 hours of unpaid work per day compared to men's 1.5 hours.
- In India, women spend 6 hours a day on housework compared to men's 13 minutes
- American women do 4 hours of unpaid work per day vs 2.5 hours for men
- Even in Norway, with a relatively gender-equal culture, women do more unpaid work
Time use data shows that when women reduce their unpaid work, it is usually because they are doing more paid work - not because men are contributing more. Men consistently fail to match women's unpaid contributions, regardless of employment status or income.
Section: 2, Chapter: 3
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
The "Invisible" Labor of Women's Unpaid Work
In 1975, 90% of Iceland's women went on strike for a day, refusing to do any work - paid labor or housework and childcare. Chaos ensued as a result:
- Offices and schools shut down, unable to operate
- Fathers scrambled to find food and care for their children
- Sausages, a common ready meal, sold out as men struggled to cook
This "Women's Day Off" demonstrated how much society depends on women's behind-the-scenes labor to function. Despite unpaid domestic and care work being essential, it is not recognized as "real" work because it is not included in economic measures like GDP. This renders women's contributions invisible.
Section: 2, Chapter: 3
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
Gender-Sensitive Urban Planning Saves Lives and Money
Urban planners need to adopt a gender-sensitive approach that accounts for women's travel patterns and needs. Some ways to do this:
- Collect sex-disaggregated data on transit usage to identify differing patterns
- Prioritize pedestrian infrastructure like well-lit, obstacle-free sidewalks that make walking easier and safer
- Invest in buses and intermediate public transit that are more flexible than rail
- Develop mixed-use zoning that locates essential services, employment and childcare in proximity to shorten women's trips
Not only is this more equitable, but it has economic benefits in enabling women's workforce participation and reducing medical costs from injuries. It's a win-win to plan cities around women's lives.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Invisible Women
Author: Caroline Criado Perez
We Need To Reframe The Gender Issue
Society frames the gender issue entirely wrong. The question is not whether women can have both a successful career and family. Many women already do. The real issue is that they're doing it against all odds, in a society and workplace culture still overwhelmingly built for men's success. The question we should be asking is, how can we change our organizations and culture so that everyone can thrive in both work and family life? Reframing the issue this way, as a social and structural challenge rather than a women's problem, is essential to making real progress.
The goal of feminism is not for women to beat men or for anyone to "have it all." It's to create a society and work culture that allows all people to pursue the goals and lifestyle that matter to them without being hindered by gender. Equality is not a zero-sum game. When more women thrive professionally, it benefits their families and society as a whole. When more men get to be active parents and partners, it enriches their lives. True equality means everyone wins.
Section: 1, Chapter: 11
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
When A Miscarriage Is A Crime - The Growing Threat Of Prosecution
Since Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, many states have enacted laws severely restricting or banning abortion. Some grant embryos/fetuses full legal personhood. This has created confusion and fear around miscarriage management, as the same procedures and medications are used for both miscarriage and elective abortion.
Particularly in communities of color, where medical mistrust due to racism is already high, this could lead to devastating public health impacts as pregnant people avoid care. Some may even be prosecuted for adverse outcomes like stillbirth, a return to draconian policing of pregnancy.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Owning Success Starts With Language
One subtle way women downplay achievements is through qualifying language:
- "I don't know if this is quite right, but..."
- "This might be a stupid question, but..."
- "I'm just lucky to have had the chance..."
Strip qualifiers out of your speech. State your ideas without apologies or hedging. Accept compliments with a simple "thank you." Choose words that fully own your contributions and abilities.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Lean In
Author: Sheryl Sandberg
Maternal Mortality Is A Marker - What Our Shameful Rates Say About America
"Maternal mortality ratios tell us how well a country's healthcare system in general is functioning. In America, our maternal mortality rates are a stark reminder of how little we actually value women's health." - Anushay Hossain, The Pain Gap
Despite spending more on healthcare than any other developed nation, the U.S. maternal death rate is the highest among its peers and rising. Black women are 3 times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes, revealing deep inequities. Systemic bias, social determinants of health, and the erosion of reproductive rights all contribute to this crisis.
Section: 2, Chapter: 6
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Black Women Bear The Brunt - Racism As A Pregnancy Risk Factor
Black women suffer disproportionately high rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and maternal death compared to white women. Social inequities, chronic stress, and medical discrimination create physical circumstances that make healthy births more difficult:
- Lack of access to quality prenatal care
- Untreated conditions like fibroids or hypertension going into pregnancy
- Providers not believing reports of pain or warning signs
- Hospitals without adequate resources/training to handle emergencies
- Expectation that Black women be "strong" and not complain
- Lifelong impacts of racism on health increasing pregnancy risks
Section: 2, Chapter: 8
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Books about Feminism
Health
Feminism
Medicine
Politics
I'm Sorry for My Loss Book Summary
Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
"I'm Sorry for Your Loss" is a groundbreaking exploration of the cultural silence, medical myths, and legal quagmires surrounding miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion in America, weaving together personal stories, historical context, and expert insights to envision a world where no one has to grieve alone.
Society
Feminism
Technology
Invisible Women Book Summary
Caroline Criado Perez
Invisible Women exposes the gender data gap that underlies our male-default world, revealing the hidden ways in which the failure to collect data on women's lives leads to bias, discrimination, and disadvantage in everything from healthcare to the workplace to public policy - and offers a roadmap for closing this gap to build a more equitable future for all.
Leadership
Feminism
Business
Biography
Lean In Book Summary
Sheryl Sandberg
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg examines the barriers women face in achieving leadership roles and offers compelling, research-based advice on what women can do to overcome these obstacles and achieve their full potential in both their professional and personal lives.