The Authority Gap
Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
*A WATERSTONES 'BEST POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR'*
*A TIMES 'BEST PHILOSOPHY AND IDEAS' BOOK OF 2021*
*A GUARDIAN 'BEST POLITICS BOOKS OF THE YEAR'*
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BUSINESS BOOK AWARD
'A brilliant manifesto explaining why women are still so underestimated and overlooked in today's world, but how we can also be hopeful for change' - Philippa Perry
'An impassioned, meticulously argued and optimistic call to arms for anyone who cares about creating a fairer society' - Observer
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Imagine living in a world in which you were routinely patronised by women.
Imagine having your views ignored or your expertise frequently challenged by them.
Imagine people always addressing the woman you are with before you.
Now imagine a world in which the reverse of this is true.
The Authority Gap provides a startling perspective on the unseen bias at work in our everyday lives, to reveal the scale of the gap that still persists between men and women. Would you believe that US Supreme Court Justices are interrupted four times more often than male ones... 96% of the time by men? Or that British parents, when asked to estimate their child's IQ will place their son at 115 and their daughter at 107?
Marshalling a wealth of data with precision and insight, and including interviews with pioneering women such as Baroness Hale, Mary Beard and Bernadine Evaristo, Mary Ann exposes unconscious bias in this fresh feminist take on how to address and counteract systemic sexism in ways that benefit us all.
Includes interviews with pioneering women such as:
Baroness Hale
Mary Beard
Bernadine Evaristo
Mary McAleese
Julia Gillard
Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes
Cherie Blair
Liz Truss
Amber Rudd
Frances Morris
Laura Bates
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'Hugely exciting' - Emily Maitlis
'Deeply researched, profoundly thoughtful and a book very much for the here and now: Mary Ann Sieghart's The Authority Gap is the book she was probably born to write' - Andrew Marr
'At last here is a credible roadmap that is capable of taking women from the margins to the centre by bridging the authority gap that holds back even the best and most talented of women. - Mary McAleese, Former President of Ireland
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Sieghart debuts with a cogent analysis of the ways in which women are denied the respect and authority given to men. Contending that society's assumptions about women stand in the way of their ability to reach their potential, Sieghart cites evidence that "women are much more likely to be interrupted than men," that teachers encourage and expect more from boys than girls, and that women are judged based on appearance rather than competence. Sieghart also notes that neuroscientist Ben Barres, a trans man, believed that his career path and scholarly standing improved after his transition ("I can even complete a whole sentence without being interrupted by a man," he wrote in an article Nature). Meanwhile, interviews with novelist Bernardine Evaristo, U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen, and other high achievers make clear that even women at the top of their fields have been underestimated, dismissed, and ignored. Sieghart's blueprint for closing the authority gap includes advice for individuals ("Become aware of our bias in everyday interactions") and employers ("Keep meticulous track of how women are doing in our organization compared with men"). Skillfully interweaving psychology, sociology, politics, and pop culture, this a persuasive introduction to the problem of gender bias.
