And can talk really close it?

Later this week, we are presenting at the International Coalition of Girls School Educating Girls Symposium in Auckland. If you’re attending the conference, please come to the session and say hello!

One of the main areas of consideration for us on Friday will be the crucial role that developing dialogue in schools can play in elevating the voices of girls and young women. We thought we’d spend a bit of time this week considering the views of Mary Ann Sieghart: she is a real leader in this space.

What is the authority gap?

Sieghart explains the authority gap beautifully below. For a full explanation, please watch the video below but, spoiler alert, essentially, the further a person is from the white, middle-aged male, the less their voice is heard and valued.

Why does this matter?

In order for society to flourish as a whole, all voices need to be represented, to be heard, to be listened to and to form part of the conversation.

These things don’t just happen naturally: the world is too skewed for this to be so.

The explicit teaching of meaningful group dialogue is essential in overcoming these challenges: all young people need to be taught how to speak with confidence, yes, but they also need to be taught how to listen, how to affirm, how to build on the ideas of others, how to genuinely collaborate.