And we know this isn’t true because women writers who hide their gender do better.

It comes down to the bias of readers. Women read from male and female authors. Men have an inherent bias against women authors or topics considered feminine.

When men don’t know they’re reading the words of a woman, they absorb it at face value, without prejudice.

There’s no way Harry Potter would have become the sensation it was if it had been published under Joanne Rowling rather than JK Rowling. Middle school boys wouldn’t have read it because it was written by a girl. Male reviewers would have picked it apart.