An informal online discussion
with Women in IP
Thursday 5 May 2022
12.30 – 1.15 pm
As a precursor to their 2022 annual event, Women in IP invited their supporters to a book club-style coffee date.
The book they discussed was The Authority Gap by Mary Ann Sieghart.
As usual, all genders were welcome – this is a topic that’s of huge importance to allies. You didn’t necessarily have to have read the book beforehand, although it would almost certainly have increased your passion for the cause if you had (and still can!). Either way, participants learned a lot from the discussions around it, and had plenty to contribute too.
The annual event itself was held on Tuesday 21 June 2022 (see here), with a follow-up discussion on 11 October 2022 (here).
The discussion questions
We were lucky enough that the author, Mary Ann Sieghart, shared a couple of discussion points with us that she thought were important:
- How can we stop mistaking confidence for competence?
- Is it women who need fixing or the way we perceive, react to and interact with women?
Another discussion point, especially given articles that had been in the news recently, was:
- What can men and women do to stop women’s authority being undermined?
We enjoyed hearing people’s thoughts on these issues. If you’d like to know more, you can read reports from the June and October discussions here and here.
Cost
This event was free. So are all our resources. We think it’s important to keep IP Inclusive on the right side of the paywall.
That said, we do need money to keep the show on the road, so if you enjoyed the event please consider contributing to our 2021-22 fundraising campaign. For more information – including about corporate donations – visit our fundraising page.