Who Counts as an Expert? Gender, Authority and the Politics of Persuasion

I watched the news last night, where the focus was on the UK Chancellor of the Excheuquer, Rachel Reeves, and in particular on the fact that she was in tears during a session in Parliament.

Much of the discussion focused on whether she was over-emotional, under too much pressure, about to be sacked - and up to the job. The fact that the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, did not seem to notice, say anything to support her, nor even offer a word of two of comfort was also much commented on.

It is a grimly familiar story about how women and men are judged differently. Reeves is, of course, the first woman in British history to be Chancellor - the first to smash another glass ceiling that should not have been intact in the third decade of the 21st century.

So I spent a bit of time last night thinking about gender, expertise and professional credentials.

What makes someone an expert in the eyes of the public? A PhD from Oxford (ahem)? Someone with a long career in the public eye ? Or does it depend - as it so often has in history - on whether the speaker is a man or a woman?