Book review: The Authority Gap by Mary Ann Sieghart

This book will enrage you. It will make you frustrated, and angry, and wonder how we still exist in a world with such bias and struggle. However, by the end, you will feel hopeful, and it will make you change the way you interact with every person around you. It will impact your parenting, your friendships, and your leadership; it will (and must) alter your thought patterns and your communications. There really isn’t an industry or interaction that this book isn’t relevant for, or a bookshelf it doesn’t belong on. This month, I want to share “The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It” by Mary Ann Sieghart.*

 

“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.”

 

Journalist Sieghart has created an exceptionally thought-provoking book. Within this, she critically examines the very real and longstanding issue of the authority gap, drawing on a range of data and paths of professional life. With evidence from psychology, sociology, linguistics, politics, management and business, and interviews with around 50 women who have held positions of power and influence, she clearly shows us how this gap turns up, and the impact on everyone to allow it to continue.

 

For the sceptics out there, they include the chapter “You don’t have to read this chapter” – one of the most attention-grabbing I have seen, but it’s a handy read to help support the discussion with those that are still in denial!   She acknowledges early in the book that the authority gap for gender intersects with other identities and biases, and that she is aware of her limitations as the author of this book. ( I would like to have seen suggestions of alternative titles to continue the discussions, but was glad to see the breadth of other voices she bought into the book). She clearly identifies how the gender pay gap is impacted by the authority gap, and furthermore, whilst we can take individual responsibilities for our part in this (women included) like the other issues with power and pay, there are structures created and withheld by groups of individuals that are long-standing (and need to be broken down, collectively)

Let’s start by understanding the context of authority within this book, which is about the authority that women have (or haven’t not). What does she mean by authority?

 

“the influence that people have as a result of their knowledge and expertise – being considered an expert in a subject.”

“ exertion of power and leadership – having authority as a result of being in charge”

 

I am not going to go into detail with the evidence of how the authority gap shows up – that is something you can read in detail yourself. Instead, I will share with you some stand-out moments for me, that I hope will highlight the importance of this book and encourage you to read this to start being part of the solution, rather than the problem.

 

In true Clara Cliff Notes, here are the five things you need to know from “The Authority Gap”.

 

1. The call often comes from inside the house.

Women are often part of the problem when it comes to the authority gap. This made me uncomfortable to read, and just as uncomfortable to write here,  but the evidence is there. Internalized misogyny is something all women need to consider; as Psychologist Maharizan Banaji reminds us, “a thumbprint of our culture has been left on our brain”. When you think of leadership and authority what comes to mind? When you critique other women what are you critiquing and why? Are you judging women and men to the same standard?

 

2. Increased gender equality is better for everyone.

Simply it’s shown throughout the book that giving women more authority (which they rightly deserve) leads to a better world; more peaceful, and increased quality of life for all. Even more (and this may be the tipping point for those that lean toward a more capitalist agenda) it’s better for the economy (through an increased GDP) which has social, community and ecological impacts. There is really no reason why ALL women shouldn’t be listened to!

 

3. There is no evidence that men are better at …

I am sure you can finish the sentence here when you consider the beliefs and “facts” that are often floated around about the gender authority gap. This is debunked across the book – from leadership, management, decision-making, communication, research and capability.

For example, the two traits that are correlated with successful leaders (extraversion and openness) exist at the same level among men and women.

 

4. Things are improving!

Things are changing, just not at the pace or intensity that we would like. For example, we are shown how implicit bias is decreasing; a positive feedback loop around girls and math is improving how well girls perform. Positive role models change aspirations – even at a distance through the “Scully Effect”  for the uptake of girls and women in STEM (from the X-Files fame). But how can we speed this up?

 

5. Everyone needs to take responsibility!

Although at a key point, I wrote in my notes, in capitals, “this is f*cked”, there is hope. You need to work your way through the book to get to the final chapter, titled “No Need to Despair: We can narrow the authority gap in one generation”. Based on the evidence collated over the previous 278 pages, it clearly lists the action we can start taking, TODAY, to break the patterns that have been created over generations. What emboldens me is the personal actions that are encouraged. Whilst there are cultural and systemic areas covered, including employers, places of education, media, government and society, it gives us the power, as individuals, partners, parents and colleagues to take action. Even I, the most staunch and vocal feminist, have identified areas that I can work on; and it begins with how I speak to myself.

 

My notes on this book are substantial – and are beyond this blog alone. I expect you will see many factors discussed within this book appear in future articles. Simply, what is contained within these 308 pages (plus 30 pages of Bibliography) is the hard, cold evidence of what so many of my contemporaries and I have experienced over our lifetime. This book is the antidote to the message so many of us have been given, then we are “over-sensitive” or “just imagining it”.

 

I want to close with an impactful quote in this book and ask you to ponder on what this means for you. As a Manager, Leader, Parent, Teacher, Friend, and Partner. What will you start to do to close the authority gap that IS impacting your nearest and dearest, and even yourself?

 

“Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture”.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Writer

 

 

Read the previous book reviews here

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