The Story of Woman S1 E1. Woman and Authority: Mary Ann Sieghart, The Authority Gap
In this episode, I talk with journalist, broadcaster and non-executive director Mary Ann Sieghart about her book, The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men and What We Can Do About It.
Unbelievably, there is still a huge gulf between men and women in the workplace when it comes to pay, promotion and authority. Referred to as “the mother of all gender gaps”, Mary Ann exposes the unseen bias at work in our everyday lives, marshaling a wealth of data with precision and insight to reveal the systemic sexism that still pervades in our society, and how to address it in ways that benefit us all.
Some topics of discussion include:
- Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and why people feel uncomfortable with female leaders
- The unconscious bias that is perpetuated by both men and women
- How powerful world leaders such as Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel experience the authority gap
- Backlash resulting from “the dangers of having an opinion and a vagina”
- What men, women and society stand to gain by tackling the authority gap
- What individuals and institutions can do about it
And more!
The quotes you will hear read during the interview are taken directly from the book, The Authority Gap.
Transcription of this episode is available here
Mentioned in this episode:
- French Braid - Anne Tyler
- Girl, Woman, Other - Bernadine Evaristo
- Women: Know Your Limits! Harry Enfield - BBC comedy
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