The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, And What We Can Do About It

Episode 112: The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, And What We Can Do About It - A Conversation With Mary Ann Sieghart

This week on the podcast Confident at Work podcast, I spoke with Mary Ann Sieghart , author of The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It. Our conversation highlighted the startling reality of how gender bias still manifests in our workplaces - and how it impacts confidence, especially for women.

What is the Authority Gap?

The authority gap measures the disparity in how seriously we take men over women. Women, Mary Ann's work reveals, are twice as likely as men to report that they need to provide more evidence of their competence, and even then, their abilities are often met with surprise. This gap is even wider for black and brown women.

Pretty bad, eh?

The authority gap shows up in different ways:

• Women are more likely to be interrupted or have their expertise questioned.
• Their authority is often resisted, and they are subjected to more challenge than their male counterparts.
• Studies reveal these behaviours persist even at the highest levels of leadership. For example, female U.S. Supreme Court justices were found to be interrupted three times more than their male colleagues!

The Impact on Confidence

I was really interested in exploring the impact that the authority gap has on women's confidence; and sadly, it's not good.

Given women are consistently undermined - through interruptions, condescension or challenge, it chips away at their authority, their belief in their own competence and their confidence.

We cannot properly address confidence issues without acknowledging the existence of the authority gap which creates them.

The women who end up at my door for help with their professional confidence are often not taking themselves as seriously, constantly questioning their own expertise, doubting themselves and are subject to that interrupting voice in their minds often.

Sound familiar?

Yep, it's everything which the authority gap exposes them to since childhood. But now it's on the inside and playing havoc with confidence of competent professionals.

It's Everywhere!

Mary Ann shared her own experience of being openly challenged by a male CEO while presenting at a senior leadership event recently. He dismissed her research, jabbing his finger and declaring, "You're wrong!" - without even having read her book. He demonstrated blatant authority gap behaviour, but in most cases, the authority gap is much more subtle; until you start to notice it everywhere!

So What Can We Do to Close the Gap?

Closing the authority gap requires awareness and action. Here’s how Mary Ann recommends we start:

- As individuals: Be mindful of your own unconscious biases! Listen to what Mary Ann shares in the podcast, then aim notice when you might be underestimating or dismissing someone because she is female, and correct for it.

- As colleagues: Support one another in meetings, ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard and respected. Try the amplification strategy we discuss in the podcast, which was adopted by the women in Barrack Obama's inner circle!

- As leaders and organisations: Find out how big the authority gap is within your organisation and commit to reducing it. Including to hold individuals accountable for behaviour that reinforces the authority gap. Listen to the podcast to hear about Mary Ann's impactful consultancy work within organisations.

Ultimately, gender equality in the workplace cannot be achieved through representation alone. Even if we reach 50/50 representation, gender inequity will persist if the authority gap is not addressed both within us, and within our organisations.

Over To You

Let's make a start shall we?

🎧 Listen to the episode here on Apple.

🎧 Listen to the episode here on Spotify.

With thanks to Mary Ann Sieghart for the interview.

Read The Authority Gap or watch Mary Ann's insightful TED Talk How To Close The Authority Gap.