Ever wondered why we don't have electric cars that actually work for everyone, or why the most "innovative" Silicon Valley products seem to solve problems only for 25-year-old guys? Honestly, it’s because we’ve been told a lie about how invention works. We think it’s all about lone geniuses in garages. We think it's about Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. But Katrine Marçal’s book, Mother of Invention, basically rips that narrative apart and shows us how gender bias has literally stalled human progress for centuries.
It’s frustrating.
We like to think the best technology always wins. That’s the myth of the free market, right? If it’s better, it sells. But Marçal points out that for decades, we ignored the wheel on the suitcase because it looked "feminine." Men were supposed to be strong enough to carry their own bags. So, travelers struggled with heavy luggage for years—not because the technology wasn't there, but because of a silly idea about masculinity. That’s the core of what Mother of Invention is about: how our ideas about "manly" vs "womanly" have shaped the tools we use and the world we live in.
The Suitcase Problem: A Lesson in Bad Logic
The wheeled suitcase is the perfect example of what Marçal calls the "man-problem" in innovation. Think about it. We put a man on the moon in 1969. We had jet engines. We had advanced physics. But we didn't put wheels on a suitcase until 1972? Why?
It wasn't a technical issue. It was a branding issue.
In the mid-20th century, carrying your own luggage was a sign of being a "real man." If you were a woman, a man (a porter or your husband) carried it for you. The industry thought no man would ever buy a suitcase with wheels because it looked weak. When Bernard Sadow finally patented the wheeled suitcase, he was told "men won't buy this." It took years for the industry to realize that, hey, maybe everyone—including men—actually likes not having a sore back.
This isn't just a funny anecdote about bags. It’s a systemic failure. When we define "technology" as "things men do," we ignore half the potential solutions to the world’s problems. We focus on the "hard" stuff—the steel, the engines, the code—and ignore the "soft" stuff that actually makes life livable.
Why Mother of Invention Matters Right Now
We are at a crossroads with AI and climate change. If we keep using the same old logic that Marçal critiques, we are going to fail. Hard.
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The book argues that our definition of "innovation" is way too narrow. We celebrate the steam engine, but we don't celebrate the social innovations or the domestic technologies that allowed the people running the steam engines to exist. Basically, if a woman did it in the kitchen or the nursery, we don't call it "tech." We call it "craft" or "housework."
The Electric Car That Could Have Been
Here is a fact that usually blows people's minds: at the turn of the 20th century, electric cars were actually more popular than gas ones in many cities. They were quiet. They were clean. They didn't require a hand-crank that could break your arm if it kicked back.
So why did we get stuck with internal combustion for 100 years?
Gender.
Because electric cars were easy to start and didn't smell like grease, they were marketed as "women’s cars." Men wanted the roar of the engine. They wanted the "danger" and the "mastery" over a machine. Gas cars were seen as adventurous; electric cars were seen as domestic. We literally chose a dirtier, less efficient technology because we didn't want to drive something that felt "girly."
Marçal uses these stories to show that our economic history isn't just a series of logical steps. It’s a mess of ego and bias. If you’re in business or tech today, you’ve got to realize that the "best" idea in your office might be getting ignored right now for the exact same reasons.
The Climate Crisis and the "Care" Economy
One of the heaviest hitters in Mother of Invention is how we value—or don't value—nature and care. Marçal argues that we treat the planet the same way we’ve historically treated women: as a resource that provides "free" labor and never runs out.
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We don't put "care" on the GDP.
We don't put "clean air" on the balance sheet.
But without those things, the whole economy collapses. The book pushes us to stop seeing the economy as a machine and start seeing it as a living system. If we continue to view innovation only through the lens of "disruption" and "conquest," we’re just going to disrupt ourselves into extinction. Real innovation might actually look like sustainability, maintenance, and care—things we’ve traditionally labeled as feminine and therefore "lesser."
What Most People Get Wrong About This Book
Some people see the title and think it's just a collection of "hidden figures" or "women inventors you didn't know about." It's not that. I mean, those stories are in there, but it’s much more radical. It’s a critique of capitalism itself.
Marçal isn't just saying "hey, add some women to the board." She’s saying "the way the board thinks is fundamentally broken because it’s based on an incomplete version of humanity."
She talks about "Economic Man"—that mythical creature who is perfectly rational, has no family ties, and only wants to maximize profit. We built our entire global system for this guy. The problem? He doesn't exist. Real humans are messy, we get sick, we have kids, and we care about things other than money. When our technology ignores those realities, it fails us.
Complexity vs. Simplicity
The writing in Mother of Invention is sharp. It’s witty. It doesn't feel like a dry economics textbook. Marçal has this way of making you feel a bit embarrassed for humanity while also giving you a roadmap out of the mess.
You'll read about:
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- The history of knitting and how it relates to computer coding.
- Why the first computers were actually women, and how the job lost prestige once men took over.
- How the "Silicon Valley" model of high-growth tech is actually stifling real scientific breakthroughs.
- The weirdly gendered history of the hunt for fire.
It's a lot. But it's necessary.
Practical Insights for the Modern Innovator
If you're a founder, a designer, or just someone who likes to think about the future, there are some serious takeaways here. You can't just keep building for the same demographic and expect to change the world.
Audit your biases. Look at your product. Who are you assuming is the "default" user? If it's a "standard" male, you're likely missing a massive market opportunity—not because of a lack of merit, but because of a lack of imagination.
Value maintenance over disruption. We are obsessed with the "new." But the most important technologies are often the ones that keep things running. Investing in the "unsexy" stuff—infrastructure, care, sustainability—is where the real long-term value lies.
Redefine what "high-tech" means. Is a complex social system that manages water rights in a village "low-tech" just because it doesn't involve an app? No. It’s sophisticated engineering. We need to broaden our definitions if we want to solve global problems.
Stop fearing the "feminine." If an idea feels "soft" or "collaborative" or "nurturing," don't dismiss it. In a world that's literally overheating, those "soft" skills are the most "hardcore" survival tools we have.
Mother of Invention is a wake-up call. It tells us that we’ve been trying to fly with one wing tied behind our back. The good news? If we actually start valuing the other half of human experience, we might finally get those flying cars—or at least a planet that's still habitable.
How to Apply These Ideas Today
- Read beyond the standard tech canon. Put down the biographies of "Great Men" and look into the history of domestic labor and social organization.
- Diversify your feedback loops. If your entire testing group looks like you, your product will have blind spots the size of a 1970s suitcase.
- Challenge the "Efficiency" Narrative. Ask if a new technology actually makes life better, or if it just makes things faster for the sake of speed.
- Invest in "Circular" Thinking. Look for ways to build systems that mimic natural cycles of care and renewal rather than linear consumption.