Mary Ann Sieghart
Mary Ann Sieghart | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 6, 1961 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, journalist, consultant, radio host |
| Known for | Author of The Authority Gap; former assistant editor at The Times; broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 |
| Notable work | The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It |
Mary Ann Corinna Howard Sieghart (born 6 August 1961) is a distinguished English writer, journalist, consultant, and radio host. Formerly an assistant editor at The Times, she authored columns focusing on politics, social issues, and everyday life. Additionally, she penned a weekly political column for The Independent. Her widely acclaimed book, The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It, was released by Transworld/Doubleday in July 2021. Currently, Sieghart heads The Authority Gap Consultancy, which supports organisations in addressing disparities in authority.
Her broadcasting work on BBC Radio 4 includes hosting programs such as Start the Week, Fallout, Analysis, Profile, One to One, and Beyond Westminster, alongside various documentary projects. She holds a visiting professorship at King's College London and served as chair of the Social Market Foundation, an independent think tank, from 2010 until 2020. Sieghart’s governance roles have included non-executive directorship on the Ofcom Content Board and membership of the Tate Modern Council. Presently, she is a Non-Executive Director at Guardian Media Group, Senior Independent Director for the FTSE 250 investment trust Pantheon International, and Trustee of both the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Kennedy Memorial Trust. In 2022, she chaired the judging panel for the Women's Prize for Fiction and was recognized among Female FTSE 100 Women to Watch in 2018.
Between 2018 and 2019, Sieghart was appointed Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, where she conducted research for The Authority Gap. She has also been an Associate Member at Nuffield College (2019–20) and served as Senior Academic Visitor at Oriel College (2020–21). She continues her academic engagement as a visiting professor at King's College London.
Early life
Born in Hammersmith, London in 1961, Sieghart is the daughter of Paul Sieghart, a Vienna-born human rights lawyer and broadcaster, and Felicity Ann Olga Howard Sieghart (née Baer), who chaired the National Association for Gifted Children and was managing director of the Aldeburgh Cinema. Her paternal family escaped Nazi persecution by relocating first to Switzerland and subsequently to England.
Her elder brother is William Sieghart. She received private education at Cobham Hall School and Bedales School, earning a scholarship to Wadham College, Oxford at age 16. She graduated in 1982 with first-class honours in Philosophy, politics and economics.
Career
Sieghart’s journalism career commenced during the summer vacation of 1980 at The Daily Telegraph, where she worked across sub-editing, features, and editorial leadership. Bill Deedes commended her liberal stance on the leader page and offered her a position upon graduation but recommended seeking opportunities elsewhere due to financial instability at the paper.
Following her time at Oxford, she joined the Financial Times as Eurobond Correspondent before becoming a Lex column contributor. In 1984, she was awarded a Laurence Stern Fellowship at The Washington Post. By 1986, she was appointed City Editor for the launch of Today but departed after its acquisition by Tiny Rowland, subsequently joining The Economist as Political Correspondent. During this period, she also presented The World This Week on Channel 4.
In 1988, Sieghart became editor of comment pages at The Times, later advancing to roles including Arts Editor, Chief Political leader-writer, and Monday acting editor. She chaired the revival of The Brains Trust on BBC2 in 1995.
In 2003, Bill Hagerty of the British Journalism Review described her as "very talented," noting her preference for broadsheet journalism over tabloid formats. She left The Times in 2007 to focus on a portfolio career and contributed the principal opinion column for The Independent between 2010 and 2012.
An accomplished broadcaster, Sieghart has presented Radio 4’s Start the Week, BBC World Service’s Newshour (2008–2010), along with programs such as Analysis, Fallout, Profile, and Beyond Westminster. She regularly appears on television programs including Question Time, Any Questions, Newsnight, and the Today show.
Other engagements
Sieghart serves as a Founding Partner at The Authority Gap Consultancy, holds the position of Visiting Professor at King's College London, and acts as a Non-Executive Director for Guardian Media Group. Additionally, she is the Senior Independent Director at Pantheon International. In 2022, she led the Women's Prize for Fiction as its chair and previously chaired the Social Market Foundation. Her governance experience extends to board memberships including the Henderson Smaller Companies Investment Trust, DLN Digital Ltd, the Council of Tate Modern, and Ofcom's Content Board. She fulfills the role of senior trustee at the Kennedy Memorial Trust and is a trustee of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Her former trusteeships encompass the Radcliffe Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Personal details
Sieghart qualifies for both Austrian and German citizenship and pursued German citizenship in 2018. She lives with prosopagnosia, a neurological condition impairing facial recognition, which also affects her mother, husband, and one of her children.
External links
- Official website
- Mary Ann Sieghart | The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men (Author Events, Free Library of Philadelphia)
- The Authority Gap w/ Mary Ann Sieghart (hosted by Cara Santa Maria)
- The Authority Gap with Mary Ann Sieghart (discussion with Councillor Alison Jenner, Oxfordshire)