Invisible Bias: The Fatal Impact of a World Designed for Men

Written By VERITY Now

VERITY NOW (Vehicle Equity Rules in Transportation) Coalition and United State of Women (USOW) recently held a virtual event, Invisible Bias: The Fatal Impact of a World Designed for Men, to discuss gender bias in data and learn how the public can take action to advocate for equity in design.  If you were unable to join us, we’ve included the recording and a quick recap below. 

There is still more work to be done to end the deadly gender bias in car crash safety, and we need your help! 

Event Recap - Invisible Bias: The Fatal Impact of a World Designed by Men:

Invisible bias is all around us - women are 17% more likely to be killed, and 73% more likely to be injured in a car crash than men because cars have been designed around the bodies of male crash test dummies. ​Society tends to think of men as the “gender-neutral” for everything around us – from medications to CPR dummies, to cars, women’s bodies are frequently not even part of the equation. This lack of equity and accountability is how companies end up creating products that are costing women’s lives. Both the lack of women in STEM and the lack of programming that is inclusive of women’s needs (such as childcare support) also play huge roles in these biases not being addressed, as women are literally not in the room where decisions are being made. 

Not taking women’s bone masses, bone structure, and biology into consideration when designing the world around us, hurts women. The world has changed a lot in the past 40 years and now it’s time to change car safety regulations and make them more inclusive. These biases are invisible, and the public often doesn’t know that the products they are using are dangerous to half of the population.

To make changes happen, you need to vote, use your purchasing power, call your members of Congress, call NHTSA, call the Department of Transportation, and pressure both lawmakers and corporations to make a change. 

Tweetable moments: 

Susan Molinari: "Go to http://veritynow.org/takeaction if you would like to join our efforts to advocate for equitable safety standards in-vehicle testing. This will take a grassroots effort, so join us. @SecretaryPete can change this tomorrow if he wants..." @NHTSAgov #InvisibleBias

@CCriadoPerez: “We think of women as a-typical and niche, but they make up half the population, and we use men as the default human... We need to take women into account when making decisions." #InivisbleBias

@ValerieJarrett: “We live in a world where women are 27% less likely than men to receive CPR from a bystander in a public place because CPR training does not include women's figures. Gender bias and design is costing lives, and we must take action now.” #InvisibleBias

@reshmasaujani: “When women are not sitting around that table, it affects innovation. For example, Uber and Lyft took forever to have a button for sexual harassment. To not have diversity and women around the table, it affects everything.” #InvisibleBias

Ways You Can Help:

If you are interested in learning more or joining the VERITY NOW Coalition, please contact info@veritynow.org for more information.

VERITY Now
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