Women in Translation: how to read the world differently

This International Women’s Day I wrote a guest post for the Pan MacMillan publishing house, looking at the relative paucity of women writers in translation, and what we can do to break the bias.

I talk about the problem of unconscious bias, and particularly the issues that occur when we think we have done something to promote diversity and inclusivity, so are too quick to celebrate the “small wins”, leaving the false impression that the work is done, and so further marginalising certain writers and social groups. I rant about the consecration of a handful of “great” authors, share my fears for post-Covid diversity regression, and encourage us – all of us – to recognise our own preconceptions and assumptions and work to #BreakTheBias.

I’d love it if you could head over to Pan MacMillan and have a read…