Don’t dismiss women: a Letter to Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart
I have sent this to Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell, but am yet to receive a response.
Dear Rory and Alastair,
I was blown away by your commitment and bravery in bringing diverse perspectives on your show when you invited Husam Zomlot to speak, ten days after the Israel-Hamas conflict began. I was floored, however, with your response last week to the question about why “the majority of the books you recommend are written by men.”
Although less than 20% of your recommended books are by women [1], you playfully scolded a woman named Geraldine for “not paying attention” and absolved yourselves by referring to books you’d recently read or recommended, without engaging with the question. Your reaction reminded me of how some men deflect accusations of sexism by invoking their love of their wives and daughters. You usually are more evidence-driven than this, and more introspective.
Women are also under-represented on Leading. You have only interviewed three women in 2024, one in six guests, and 26% of all interviewees have been women to date.
It would be unfair to say that you never recommend books by women, or never have women on your show. There may be few who are suitable interviewees, or they may be declining your invitations to speak at greater rates than men. It’s also possible there are fewer great women authors – publications like the FT and the Economist also recommend more books by men than women. Since you did not answer Geraldine's question, I can only speculate why it is that women are under-represented on your show, and if it is wilful or accidental. You both admire many women writers and leaders, so I hope it is the latter.
Your show is a cut above the rest, and I believe in you both to do better on lending your platform to diverse perspectives that include women. To spark some ideas, I have attached recommendations for 10 books by women, and 10 potential Leading guests. I would be delighted to discuss this further if it is of interest.
Kind regards,
Lucy Shaw
[1] Of 152 book recommendations you published, 29 are authored by women. I excluded your own books, unless they had a co-author, illustrators and translators from this analysis.
Book Recommendations
1. Eve, by Kat Bohannon – a catalogue of how women’s bodies are different from men’s and what that means for evolution.
2. Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi – a multi-generational novel about the trauma of colonialism and slavery, set in Ghana and the US.
3. Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein – interrogates the various economic “shock therapy” treatments of the 20th and 21st centuries.
4. All the Living and the Dead, by Hayley Campbell – a fascinating foray into what happens to our bodies after we die, and the people who care for them.
5. Do Not Disturb, by Michela Wrong – an investigative takedown of Paul Kagame.
6. Penguin Anthology of Feminist Writing, edited by Hannah Dawson – 116 feminist works from around the world, written from 1405 to present day.
7. Eat the Buddha, by Barbara Demick – a book about the history and trauma of Tibet.
8. A Little Life, by Hanya Managihara – a poetic novel about familial love and trauma.
9. Kindred, by Octavia Butler – a terrifying time-travel novel that brings the experience of enslaved Black Americans to life.
10. The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander – an exploration of mass incarceration in the US and how the US Justice system fails Black Americans.
Leading guest ideas
1. Jacinda Ardern – former PM of New Zealand, recently a fellow at the Kennedy School and presumably in Rory’s network.
2. Yassmin Abdel-Magied – Sudanese-Australian author and human rights activist with a lot to say about the Sudan conflict and unconscious bias. I could introduce you.
3. Clarissa Ward – British-American war correspondent for CNN.
4. Meg Whitman – US Ambassador to Kenya, former CEO of HP and eBay. Presumably in Rory’s network through GiveDirectly.
5. Samantha Power – head of USAID, former US Ambassador to the UN. Rory, you may know her from the Kennedy School.
6. Blythe Masters – leading British figure in finance.
7. Meg Rithmire – HBS professor with a lot to say about China and emerging markets.
8. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – head of the WTO and affiliated with Harvard and the World Bank, likely reachable through Rory’s development contacts or Harvard professors.
9. Michelle Bachelet – Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Chile, also probably accessible through Rory’s development contacts.
10. Anita Anand – historian and co-host of the Empire podcast, in your Goalhanger podcast network.