Numbers don't lie, but liars use numbers. The percentage paradox reveals how statistical framing can obscure truth, reinforce bias, and perpetuate systemic oppression—all while appearing perfectly objective.
The Illusion of Objectivity
When we hear "women earn 82% of what men earn," the framing matters. Is that statistic an indictment of systemic discrimination, or does it become ammunition for those who argue women simply "choose" lower-paying careers? The same number, different narratives—one liberating, one oppressive.
Base Rate Fallacies and Marginalized Communities
Consider how crime statistics are weaponized against communities of color. A percentage tells you nothing about over-policing, about which neighborhoods receive surveillance, about who gets arrested versus who gets a warning. The percentage is real; the context is deliberately erased.
The Gender Data Gap
Caroline Criado Perez documented how our entire world is built on data that treats men as default. Car crash safety ratings based on male bodies. Medical dosages calibrated to male metabolisms. Workplace temperatures set for male comfort. The paradox: women are 50% of humanity but exist as statistical afterthoughts.
Reclaiming Numbers
We need data justice—the insistence that numbers serve liberation rather than oppression. This means asking who collected the data, who was counted, who was excluded, and whose interests the findings serve.
Every percentage carries assumptions. Every statistic has a politics. Our job is to interrogate them relentlessly, to demand context, and to center the experiences of those most often reduced to mere data points.
The paradox isn't in the percentages. It's in believing numbers speak for themselves when someone always chooses what to count.