Invisible Women – Best Book of 2019
I don’t recall how I came upon this book, but when I did hear about “Invisible Women” by Caroline Criado Perez, I had to have it. At my local library, there was nearly a 3-month wait to reach the top of the waiting list!
Another library in the area did not have any – so I told them all about it and they ordered some!
My choice was to get it via Audible. For the next week, I listened to it – often from my phone while I was driving!
The information about the bias towards men – after all, isn’t it often referred to as a “Man’s Word”? The author, an academic, has done amazing research and filled the book with much information, some of which we know. We ladies know that there is always a long queue at the female’s toilets and none at the men’s toilets. Don’t any of the men who create and build public buildings know that women take longer in the loo, and that more toilet cubicles are necessary.
(Though not in “Invisible Women” we know now that there is a move towards unisex toilets – again it is discrimination against women for we do not wish to share the facilities with males!)
The author has collected much interesting information, much of it I would not have known about. It’s a great book for women, and I hope males read it too – especially those with key roles in our communities. I have already written some letters to organisations, including one that is about to build a big new theatre, suggesting they read it or at least acknowledge the issue re the lack of women’s toilets in major buildings.
We need more women to try to “open the eyes” of architects and builders. There are other issues in the book that are worth lobbying about.
Please read/listen to the book and see if you can make a difference.
Photo by Seth Doyle from Unsplash.com
