Invisible Women

I recently started reading the book Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World designed for Men, (Criado Perez, 2019), and it has really opened my eyes. Criado Perez cites numerous examples of how women are essentially invisible in the research, not being included in the data gathering and policy processes. Rarely is the data collected or disaggregated to note the differences between men and women, and if it is, it is even more rare for decision-makers to do anything with that data. Not being included in the data and planning is not just inconvenient, it is downright dangerous for women medically, when navigating snowy streets, taking public transit, and just doing their jobs.

Criado Perez also made visible the invisible work of caregiving that falls predominantly on women but is neither paid or accounted for in planning schedules or transportation options. Women comprise about 50% of the population, and yet, ironically, data about women, and female perspectives are considered “niche”. Using the male body and perspective as default has far-reaching consequences for all of us.

When I was doing my doctoral research, I was fascinated by the insights of Carol Gilligan. In her book, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development (1993), Gilligan uncovered the fact that many psychological theories were developed using all male subjects, and when women were compared to the models and didn’t quite fit, they were considered deficient. Carol Gilligan noticed this and started including women in her research to present a different voice and point of view than the default male. 

Following in her footsteps, four women were determined to elevate more female voices and wrote Women’s Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger & Tarule, 1997). They did their research with over one hundred women subjects that they enrolled from community health centres, colleges and universities. They researchers came up with their own categories for women’s ways of knowing, including silence, for those women who had been told their voice did not matter. (Read more about their distinctly female ways of doing research in chapter 34 of my book!)

Listening to Female Voices

I saw myself and my own development as I read through the categories of received knowledge, subjective knowledge,  and finally constructed knowing. What a journey I had been on, from merely trusting what male leaders said, to being able to seek out diverse perspectives and integrate them into a constructed knowing that made sense to me.

I wanted to contribute to the research that gave voice to women’s lived experiences, particularly, the experiences of female leaders. I wanted to know what it was like for women to lead schools, how they learned and made decisions, and mothered, and integrated their knowing across their roles to act on their values. Completing my dissertation was transformative to me, empowering me to listen to my heart, and lead in my own way. 

Becoming Visible

Over the next twelve years I kept learning from other women, and conducted interviews with six more women in government and not-for-profit sectors who I thought were leading in innovative ways. I was excited to publish my book, Women Thriving in Leadership: Practices for Cultivating Wholeness and Community (2024) and add to the literature with a leadership book by a woman, for women, about women.

Perhaps I thought that because Gilligan and Belenky et al. had uncovered this issue of the absence of women in the 1980’s and 1990’s this problem had been solved. Reading Invisible Women, (Criado Perez, 2019) I realized I was so wrong.  Now more than ever, it is critical for women to be visible, to speak up, to use their voices, to innovate, and to solve the problems that exist for women around the world. 

Criado Perez’s book was published in 2019 and was an international bestseller. It is not the only book that tackles the idea of invisible women. In fact, I found 18 books with the words invisible and women in the title. A few years ago, I read the novel Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray. Clover, a woman in her fifties, suddenly becomes invisible and NOBODY NOTICES! Not her husband or children. No one actually looked her in the eye or paid enough attention to notice when her body disappeared. If you have been feeling invisible, it is not you! The experience of feeling invisible has been well documented in both fiction and nonfiction

Women need to be seen and heard. They need to be at the tables where decisions are being made, so that our communities and society work for all of us. In addition to stepping up into our unique leadership narrative, we need to empower other women around us to do the same. We need everyone offering their gifts to create communities for mutual thriving. Especially when there is chaos all around us, it is critical for us to speak up, listen to each other, and create space for diverse voices. The world needs what only you can offer. It’s a great day to thrive, and thriving starts with you!