She argues that science hasn’t just let women down, it has failed them, yet she’s always pragmatic. Saini’s narrative is sharp, engaging and admirably tempered. But, being made from decomposable materials, these and other potentially ‘female’ inventions leave no trace in the fossil record – neglecting women’s historical contributions to human survival.

One of my favourite nuggets from the book is the suggestion that, rather than hunting equipment, baby slings could well have been the first human invention. Anything that contradicts it, meanwhile, is dismissed as aberrant,’ she explains. But society struggles with research that goes against gender stereotypes, while effortlessly accepting studies that reinforce them: ‘Research that confirms what appears to be obvious seems right. Saini highlights that gender differences fall on a continuum – it’s not a binary system and there are more overlaps than differences. But it’s becoming clearer that culture and society, rather than biology, have been holding women back. Men and women are different – we cannot ignore the inescapable fact that women are the child bearers. Saini uncovers a lot of questionable science, unashamed misogyny and previously ignored studies.

She dives into the research and questions their design as well as their conclusions, unflinchingly tackling everything from female genital mutilation to the menopause and sex drive. In Inferior, journalist Angela Saini, who has a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Oxford, UK, examines scientific studies on the differences between men and women. Scientists can make new elements and turn molecules into mini-machines, but when it comes to objectively designing and interpreting gender studies they’re struggling.

Inferior saini