It’s always good when women win things in fiction because it tends to be more male-dominated, unlike poetry, which is more equal.

Duffy is commenting on gendered patterns of recognition in literary culture. The remark assumes that prizes, reviews, and publishing attention in fiction have historically skewed toward men, so a woman’s success there has symbolic value beyond the individual win: it slightly rebalances a public, prestige-driven field. By contrast, she suggests poetry has been comparatively more gender-equal—whether in participation, community standing, or critical acknowledgment—so a woman’s victory in poetry is less anomalous. The quote also implies that “winning” (awards, competitions, major listings) matters because it shapes canons and careers, and because visibility influences who is encouraged to write and be read.