This edition of Rally Reads features the wonderful Fiona Pattison. For new visitors to this corner of the web, Rally Reads is a series of blog posts where we ask the people who’ve had the biggest impact on us to share the books, documentaries, articles or films that have had the biggest impact on their careers and their thinking. And to explain why.
Fiona has worked in the charity sector since 2006 supporting organisations in the UK, the US and Australia. She believes charities have played an incredible role in changing the world for the better. However, she’s determined to be part of the change that allows charities to flourish in a world where people are taking back power and governments are failing their nations.
She has recently been appointed as Executive Director for Fundraising Everywhere & Everywhere+, a young company delivering online conferences, learning and community for fundraisers by fundraisers.
We think Fiona is a big deal, we’ve worked with her for years and years and she is one of those people you need on your team. She’s smart, funny and gets shit done like no one we’ve ever met. So we are really pleased that she agreed to give us an insight into the things that inspire her.
So, over to Fiona…
Power. Very much a buzzword at the moment. The world has woken up to the fact that it's something held by the privileged minority and, more often than not, is used in a way which widens the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Be it wealth, gender, class, race, religion, ability or sexuality we exist in a world where these dictate your path in life. As Danny Dorling (see below) puts it more eloquently than me “this sham hierarchy has been created by elitism, exclusion, prejudice, and greed”.
Inequalities have existed for as long as civilisation. In our generation some have improved but many have worsened. But, for some, a tipping point appears to have been reached. Across the globe people have had enough and our digital age allows their voices to be heard.
There’s still a long, long way to go so I hope the collection of articles, books and films below will inspire you to dig your heels in and do whatever you can do to redress the imbalance of power.
The Equality Effect, Danny Dorling (2017)
I was fortunate enough to be taught by Danny Dorling at university and his work was something of a revelation to me. As an academic he has proved that everyone would be better off in a more equal society. Like all of his books, The Equality Effect, is written in an accessible format and takes the reader through relatable examples that demonstrate the greater the gap between the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’, the worse the effects are on society.
Many of us watch crises unfolding every day in the US, but this book shows things aren’t a lot better in the UK and are on a trajectory to worsen. Also featured are examples of countries who have got it right where their entire populations are happier, healthier and safer.
For those who prefer, a free video recording of Dorling talking about the subject is available here.
If you can track it down, his earlier book Unequal health: The Scandal of Our Times (2013) starkly explains why a man born in Glasgow will on average live 10 years less than a man born in Kensington. Sobering reading.
The New Statesman holds a great selection of articles written by Dorling including this Growing injustice: six myths about inequality - arm yourself with this before spending time with friends/family who may see you as an idealistic socilaist (it’s helped me!).
The Wisdom of Whores, Elizabeth Pisani (2008)
This is a book recommended to me by HIV and AIDS experts I worked with at Unicef UK. It’s a stark demonstration of how people with power can make damaging decisions without listening to those with little or none.
Pisani tells the story of a group of people disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS - female sex workers. She sensitively explains why, for them, having unprotected sex is often not a choice. Their survival (and often their children’s) is dictated by patriarchal societies where sex work is often their only way of making an income and they are powerless to insist men wear condoms. And also that sex work is so prolific in certain parts of the world, husbands are infecting their wives.
But the real scandal is that policy makers (WHO, UNAIDS etc.) are not listening to these women. Their ‘wisdom’ does not fit the global political narrative. They have become the forgotten victims of HIV and AIDS.
The Street, Zed Nelson (2019)
A documentary exploring the impact of gentrification, austerity and Brexit on Hoxton Street in east London, less than a mile from where Paul and I worked together for eight years.
Filmed over four years, Nelson gives a voice to the people who were born and bred on the street, many of whom had built their businesses in the shops below their homes. They are powerless to the property developers who are buying up huge swathes of land to build million pound luxury flats. Capitalism may be near impossible to fight but the starkness here is the switch from one end of the social scale to another.
The residents who have managed to stay have been left without a community or support networks. The viewer witnesses a group of people whose lives are being controlled as though they’re puppets and they’re not alone. Across the country the greed of property developers has created a broken property market designed to serve the wealthiest of all.
The Street may not offer solutions for the people of Hoxton Street (the conclusion being the damage has been done) but hopefully it offers hope for other communities.
New Power, Jeremy Heimans & Henry Timms (2018)
This list wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of New Power. An excellent starting point for any organisation or individual who wants to challenge the way they manage, hold on to and give back power. All around us ‘Old Power’ structures in which power is held by the few, closed, inaccessible and leader-driven are crumbling.
In this book Heimans and Timms make a convincing case for the model of ‘New Power’ - made by many, open, participatory, often leaderless and peer-driven. Through examples of movements which have changed the world the reader learns how this structure achieves more and more quickly. And isn’t that why we all do what we do?
(A note from Rally: we count this book as a major inspiration for our existence and have blogged some thoughts about it here.)
On Fiona’s 2021 reading list:
The Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats, Maya Goodfellow
Be More Pirate, Sam Conniff
Edward Said, Dominique Eddé
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics, Tim Marshall
Huge thanks to Fiona for sharing her inspiration. We hope you found it useful and that you add some of these books/films to your reading list. And don't be surprised if we approach you and ask you to give us your recommended reading and share some of the books that inspire you.