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Mother of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored in an Economy Built for Men by Katrine Marçal
bloodmaarked's review against another edition
2.0
i heard the author speak about this book in person last year and she was pretty eloquent but in this book it just felt like waffling about a whole load of nothing.
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
linkalipski's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
lillimoore's review
4.0
Swedish financial journalist and author Katrine Marçal writes about the intersectionality of gender and economics in Mother of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored in an Economy Built for Men, and she does so in a way that makes the eye-opening content within not only revelatory but also fun and fascinating.
From the idea to attach wheels to luggage to electric cars to the modern walker, many inventions and ideas have been held back by gendered perceptions of their utility. Masculinity has oftentimes trumped innovation; I had no idea until reading this book that the history of electric cars goes back as far as the history of the gas-guzzling cars we are more familiar with today, but their evolution was halted by the perception that electric cars were meant for women, and to be a man seen driving one was to be less than a man. How weird is that? Gender roles are so cemented in our psychology that people couldn't even be objective enough to realize how preposterous this is. It's hard not to wonder what the climate crisis might look like today if electric cars had been received by society in the same way as gas-fueled cars and had similar opportunities for advancement. Gender bias has for millennia stood in the way of innovation. When society deems one half of the population as inferior and therefore not worth listening to nor catering products and new concepts toward, it is only natural that a plethora of potentially world-changing ideas go untapped. As Marçal herself notes, innovation merely requires the right person to be in the right place at the right time. But how many times was the right person considered the wrong one simply because of their gender identity?
After spending the first half of the book recounting examples in history of times that an invention or significant innovation was overlooked because it was designed by or for women, Marçal switches gears and launches into a more academic consideration of women's role in the international economy. She notes how financial institutions worldwide were never constructed with women in mind, and therefore, women hold much less venture capital than men. It is far more difficult for a woman to own land, get a business loan, or have her contributions taken seriously, in part because of the fields and skills that women tend to dominate over men. Those skills, demeaningly referred to as "soft" skills, are going to become increasingly invaluable as jobs shift towards automation; AI and robotics are not yet at the point where their fine motor skills or soft skills are developed enough to overtake certain sectors such as childcare, hospitality, human resources, etc. That's not to say they might not get there eventually, but as of right now, futurists that highlight the doom and gloom of losing our jobs to automation are overlooking jobs that are primarily held by women. As with the first machine age, the second machine age will extinguish old industries, but it will also bring about new ones. Who will adapt?
I didn't necessarily need this book to know that the contributions women have made to society have always been overlooked, but it provided so much new context to bolster that argument. Katrine Marçal swiftly became a favorite feminist author, with her command of her theses and her ability to walk the line between entertaining and informative. I learned a ton reading this book and I had a lot of fun along the way, and even though the content and reality of it can be frustrating and disheartening, I somehow came away from this book with hope, because there are so many bright and amazing women in the world just like this author. I trust that we will be the ones to bring so many solutions to the table regarding climate crises, automation, and other looming threats to the advancement of society. I would love to take a class taught by this women or one in which this book and topics are discussed. Highly recommended to any feminists/egalitarians out there who have an interest in sociology, economics, or the future. Fans of Melinda Gates or Yuval Noah Harari's writing in particular should enjoy this one!
From the idea to attach wheels to luggage to electric cars to the modern walker, many inventions and ideas have been held back by gendered perceptions of their utility. Masculinity has oftentimes trumped innovation; I had no idea until reading this book that the history of electric cars goes back as far as the history of the gas-guzzling cars we are more familiar with today, but their evolution was halted by the perception that electric cars were meant for women, and to be a man seen driving one was to be less than a man. How weird is that? Gender roles are so cemented in our psychology that people couldn't even be objective enough to realize how preposterous this is. It's hard not to wonder what the climate crisis might look like today if electric cars had been received by society in the same way as gas-fueled cars and had similar opportunities for advancement. Gender bias has for millennia stood in the way of innovation. When society deems one half of the population as inferior and therefore not worth listening to nor catering products and new concepts toward, it is only natural that a plethora of potentially world-changing ideas go untapped. As Marçal herself notes, innovation merely requires the right person to be in the right place at the right time. But how many times was the right person considered the wrong one simply because of their gender identity?
After spending the first half of the book recounting examples in history of times that an invention or significant innovation was overlooked because it was designed by or for women, Marçal switches gears and launches into a more academic consideration of women's role in the international economy. She notes how financial institutions worldwide were never constructed with women in mind, and therefore, women hold much less venture capital than men. It is far more difficult for a woman to own land, get a business loan, or have her contributions taken seriously, in part because of the fields and skills that women tend to dominate over men. Those skills, demeaningly referred to as "soft" skills, are going to become increasingly invaluable as jobs shift towards automation; AI and robotics are not yet at the point where their fine motor skills or soft skills are developed enough to overtake certain sectors such as childcare, hospitality, human resources, etc. That's not to say they might not get there eventually, but as of right now, futurists that highlight the doom and gloom of losing our jobs to automation are overlooking jobs that are primarily held by women. As with the first machine age, the second machine age will extinguish old industries, but it will also bring about new ones. Who will adapt?
I didn't necessarily need this book to know that the contributions women have made to society have always been overlooked, but it provided so much new context to bolster that argument. Katrine Marçal swiftly became a favorite feminist author, with her command of her theses and her ability to walk the line between entertaining and informative. I learned a ton reading this book and I had a lot of fun along the way, and even though the content and reality of it can be frustrating and disheartening, I somehow came away from this book with hope, because there are so many bright and amazing women in the world just like this author. I trust that we will be the ones to bring so many solutions to the table regarding climate crises, automation, and other looming threats to the advancement of society. I would love to take a class taught by this women or one in which this book and topics are discussed. Highly recommended to any feminists/egalitarians out there who have an interest in sociology, economics, or the future. Fans of Melinda Gates or Yuval Noah Harari's writing in particular should enjoy this one!
beela's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
hellarachel's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.25
like I need more reasons to hate the patriarchy, but this book delivered with facts. I appreciated the last section of the book with discussion of AI's likely impact on the economy and jobs and the need to re-prioritize caring work that is often "feminized."