Author Sieghart to speak at UCC about gender inequality

ACCLAIMED author and journalist Mary Ann Sieghart will be making her Irish-speaking debut in UCC on St Brigid’s Day, to speak about her work on gender bias in the workplace.

The author of ‘The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It’ is to be the keynote speaker at a joint Network Ireland Cork and Mná@UCC event in University College Cork on 1 February.

Ms Sieghart is a highly regarded current affairs commentator, presenter and speaker, and her ground-breaking book ‘The Authority Gap’ looks at how we still don’t take women as seriously as men, and what we can do about it.

Since ‘The Authority Gap’ was published in 2021, it has received widespread praise and won numerous awards. It was named “best politics book of the year” (The Guardian), “best philosophy and ideas book of the year” (The Times) and “best political book of the year” (Waterstones).

Ahead of her visit Ms Sieghart said she is delighted to be visiting Cork, and to be speaking for the first time in Ireland.

“Women’s networks like Network Ireland and Mná@UCC are important forums, and I look forward to discussing the authority gap with such a wide range of women in business and academia,” she said.

The St. Brigid’s Day event will comprise of a morning workshop followed by a keynote speaking event that evening.

At the workshop, limited to members of Mná@UCC and Network Cork only, Ms Sieghart will give an introductory talk about what the authority gap is and what behaviour it engenders, followed by an interactive session where participants are encouraged to share their own experiences.

The evening event is open to the public and will commence at 6pm in the Western Gateway Building at UCC, with a welcome address by President of UCC, Prof. John O’Halloran.

Ms Sieghart will then discuss her best-selling book “The Authority Gap '' with the President of Mná@UCC, Dr Siobhán Lucey and the President of Network Cork, Ingrid Seim followed by an audience Q&A session to conclude the evening.

Network Cork President Ingrid Seim said she is delighted to be welcoming Ms Sieghart to Cork to share her insights.

“Knowledge is empowering. Without fully understanding the root causes behind the gender gaps we will never be able to tackle them,” she said.