The Pitfalls of Data’s Gender Gap
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-pitfalls-of-datas-gender-gap/
NASA scheduled the first all-female space walk for the end of last month. But a mere four days before the historic event was meant to happen, they scrapped the plan and subbed in a male astronaut, claiming it was because they did not have enough space suits in the proper size to fit all the women astronauts.
Unfortunately, women all too often must make do with equipment designed for men, an oversight that can be more than a PR embarrassment. Many police stab vests fail to accommodate women’s breasts, causing the protective gear to ride up and leave the wearer’s torso exposed. Although the U.S. military designed uniforms to fit female bodies, they failed to develop boots that match women’s narrower feet and higher arches. And equipment design is not the only arena where this happens.