Book Cov er
Posted By
05 Nov 2024
Author(s)
Mary Ann Sieghart
"Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it."

Mary Ann Seighart’s “The Authority Gap” deals with gender-based discrimination in the work place.  

I started reading this book with the same mindset that I would have approached an explanation that the earth is round, rather than flat – every sensible person knows that don’t they?  Just like everyone knows there is gender discrimination and that more needs to be done to correct this bias? But my mindset quickly changed to that feeling I recall from immediately after the UK voted for Brexit – a quiet numbed silence trying to get to grips with the fact (however obvious it may seem in hindsight) that not everyone thinks like you.  

Mary Ann Seighart’s evidence-based approach to this topic shows how wide the gender gaps remains and how entrenched it is in society.  Gender is not the only bias that needs to be addressed, and the magnifying effects of race on discrimination are particularly concerning.  Chapter 4 outlines why men should care about this issue, and Chapter 14 highlights the depressingly vile and toxic online abuse that women suffer.  

The book finishes with an extensive list of actions that can be taken and an encouragement to adopt a handful, and then review the list periodically to see what you can do.