Vicky Pryce does not fall easily in line; she says and does things that can be inconvenient to the establishment because, in many ways, she was part of it. This characteristic, along with her reputation as a highly accomplished economist, shines through in Why Women Need Quotas. There are moments of brilliance but this book is far from perfect and there are elements that do not do justice to her intellect.
This extended essay is split into three parts that do not sit that easily together and, to my mind, provoke quite different responses.
In the first part, Pryce shares anecdotes from her own life, many of which are intriguing and some inspiring. Pryce’s career ascent from the London School of Economics through to a senior role at KPMG is impressive, and peppered with incidents of workplace sexism that prepare the reader for her big policy asks later on.
There is refreshing honesty in a story where Pryce forgets her youngest son’s birthday and only remembers via a late-night call to the office from her hysterical children. I can imagine a gendered version of this story where her career is seen as the cause of a mother’s ultimate failure. Without apology, this version presents a very human mistake with implications no more significant than a ‘family joke’.
The second part – a sort of overview of sexism – was my least favourite section, in which Pryce is less well versed than parts one and three. It covers many of the main bases: the pay gap, occupational segregation, and what the Fawcett Society has dubbed ‘the motherhood penalty’. But there is virtually no explicit mention of class, race, disability, sexuality or any of the many identities that intersect with gender and amplify the impact of discrimination. There are also a few strange messages that feel accidental rather than deliberate. For example, there is a two-page appraisal of Miley Cyrus’ credentials as a feminist in relation to her choice of clothing, backed up by a quote from Karren Brady about short skirts. Pryce says that judging women on the basis of their appearance is unacceptable but in the same breath does just that to poor Miley. For Pryce, some feminists are more equal than others.
The essay really gets going in the final part. From here, Pryce makes a powerful case for quotas as she applies her economic expertise to the idea posed in the book’s title. She argues that the outcomes of sexism are ‘suicidal for an economy that needs high skills to prosper and grow’. The concept of ‘unconscious discrimination’ is brought sharply to life through an account of the employment tribunal that resulted in Birmingham city council shelling out an astonishing £757m to, mainly, low-paid women workers.
One of the most well constructed arguments appears when the reader is asked to consider ‘how economic disadvantage for women might affect innovation and, thus, the future growth rate of the economy’. A standout point, Pryce uses the gaming industry to demonstrate the impact occupational segregation can have when ‘specialised labour is scarce’. For all its faults, this book is definitely worth a read to pocket some persuasive economic arguments in favour of quotas, which still need to be made at the highest levels.
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Kat Stark is a member of Progress
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Why Women Need Quotas
By Vicky Pryce
BiteBack Publishing | 160pp | £10