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A list of the 25 best non-fiction books of the century has sparked debate after it featured just eight female writers.
A gender disparity in the Sunday Times list of the 25 best non-fiction books of the century has stirred up a gender debate, after it listed only eight books written by women.
At six men to two women, the gender split points to broader patterns in UK non-fiction, an industry in which male authors still dominate. Non-fiction is often associated with more ‘authoritative’ genres like self-help, popular science (22% of books in this category were published by women in 2022) and philosophy (just 10%) – subjects still shaped by patriarchal perceptions of gender and knowledge.
Across the board, a gender pay gap persists at the UK’s leading science publishers.
The Times list has led to an angered response online, with many women taking the opportunity to share some of their favourite non-fiction books by female writers – particularly those that focus on the gender and authority gaps within science-based literature.
As writer Mary Ann Sieghart pointed out, the group behind the Times list results were predominantly male (6:2), meaning gender bias was baked into the decision making. ‘We already know that women are more likely to read books by men than men are to read books by women,’ said Sieghart. ‘So even a 50:50 ratio of reviewers would probably have skewed the result in men’s favour.’
Sieghart is far from alone in her disappointment. Entrepreneur Lucy McCarraher commented on Sieghart’s post to share her own experience of gender disparity within the non-fiction industry. ‘I went through all this with the Business Book Awards 8 years ago when a 10-woman and 10-man judging panel produced 11 white male winners.’
The numbers may have shifted slightly since then, but the story feels similar. Any progress in the non-fiction industry seems to have been more cosmetic than structural.
It’s not as if the past 25 years have been a barren period for women writing in non-fiction. Yes, certain genres remain dominated by men, but that’s more of a reflection on the publishing industry’s persistent gender disparity than of the number of women writing and researching non-fiction topics.
