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Background for those not in the UK. BBC Radio 4 - National speech radio channel with news current affairs, comedy and drama. Distinctly middle class. News is s

Background for those not in the UK. BBC Radio 4 - National speech radio channel with news current affairs, comedy and drama. Distinctly middle class. News is serious high quality and it is a serious debate platform for politics. Women's Hour - Week day mid morning daily 45 minute (if you don't count book of the week) with a weekend highlight version. It is focussed on a wide range of issues of concern to women. This includes serious issues like domestic violence, practical issues, childcare and public policy, and lighter stories and some equality promoting issues such as women in tech. Women's Hour podcast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/whnews http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/whnews I think Radio4 is globally available online and has some very good content http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ Let me know if you can't access this from abroad and I will correct this. Update: And in case anyone is wondering there is a Men's Hour too although it is on a different station (and unlike Women's Hour I have never listened to it). I think it is only weekly though. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t32zg http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t32zg

JonnieCache 14y ago
Further to that - if the title "woman's hour" seems outmoded that's because it dates back to 1946. Since then it has evolved into a more modern forum for feminist/female issues, although it is still faintly ludicrous - like everything on radio 4. That's the reason for the "an indulgent smile, a nod to our ability to see humour in everything" bit in the first paragraph. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_for_the_day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_for_the_day
enra 14y ago
Seems the last 5 episodes have been all featuring women and some men.
raldi 14y ago
Thanks, but I'm still having a great deal of trouble following the post. Could you explain it like I'm five?
- josephlord 14y ago
  I'll have a go but refer to original for definitive version. Emma Mulqueeny (http://mulqueeny.wordpress.com/about/ http://mulqueeny.wordpress.com/about/) works on encouraging children to code in particular girls. Women's Hour was planning a section about activities to encourage girls to code and invited Emma to contribute. She was later uninvited. She then discovered: 1) That both participants would be men, both involved in programming for kids but only one with particular emphasis in supporting women/girls. 2) The reason she was dropped was that they wanted men. 3) This is Women's Hour and she was dropped for being a woman. Being turned down for being the wrong gender is not good in any scenario, being turned down by the Equal Opportunities committed BBC especially on Women's Hour for being a women has the potential to be quite gutting. Edit: My speculation: From the perspective of the Producers every story needs an 'angle' and they seem to have gone for one about how some men are working to help women into tech. This may have been decided after the initial invite to Emma Mulqueeny and led to the invite being withdrawn. I don't know the process for finding guests but it probably involves junior researchers ringing round lots of potentially relevant people. At the very least the invite should have been more tentative and the dropping better handled. My feeling is that not having a woman both as an example of a woman in tech and to vouch that there are men helping girls and women into tech would have strengthened the section but I'm not a radio producer or in the main target demographic for Women's Hour so offer the view very tentatively. In my first post I just provided background for those less familiar with Radio 4 but no comment on the story itself but you have drawn me into expressing a view. Edit2: Women on TV and Radio was the topic of BBC Radio 4's Media Show this week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dv9hq http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dv9hq
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- DanBC 14y ago
  No Willy, No Women's Hour Willy is juvenile slang for penis. "Women's Hour" is a long running programme on BBC Radio 4 covering a variety of issues from a women's perspective. > I also like Capital sometimes, Capital is some other commercial radio network. > satire is our bag, right? We enjoy satire. > the same bit of me that loves Boris being the Mayor of London. Boris Johnson, the current mayor of London, is a loveable buffoon who is immensely popular even though he's a politician. He's a bit of a guilty pleasure among some people. > It is not always helpful to be stabby and cross about things, Stabby - an informal colloquialism from "to stab", expressive of anger and violence. > who was a GP GP is "General Practitioner" - this is a family doctor. > was so totally gutted Totally disappointed; disheartened; dispirited. etc etc. Other people have covered the rest of it - a radio programme aimed at women wants to cover the lack of women in tech conferences and invited a woman to speak about it, but then called to cancel her because they actually wanted men to talk about the lack of women in tech conferences.

JonnieCache 14y ago

Further to that - if the title "woman's hour" seems outmoded that's because it dates back to 1946. Since then it has evolved into a more modern forum for feminist/female issues, although it is still faintly ludicrous - like everything on radio 4. That's the reason for the "an indulgent smile, a nod to our ability to see humour in everything" bit in the first paragraph. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_for_the_day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_for_the_day

enra 14y ago

Seems the last 5 episodes have been all featuring women and some men.

raldi 14y ago

Thanks, but I'm still having a great deal of trouble following the post. Could you explain it like I'm five?

josephlord 14y ago
I'll have a go but refer to original for definitive version. Emma Mulqueeny (http://mulqueeny.wordpress.com/about/ http://mulqueeny.wordpress.com/about/) works on encouraging children to code in particular girls. Women's Hour was planning a section about activities to encourage girls to code and invited Emma to contribute. She was later uninvited. She then discovered: 1) That both participants would be men, both involved in programming for kids but only one with particular emphasis in supporting women/girls. 2) The reason she was dropped was that they wanted men. 3) This is Women's Hour and she was dropped for being a woman. Being turned down for being the wrong gender is not good in any scenario, being turned down by the Equal Opportunities committed BBC especially on Women's Hour for being a women has the potential to be quite gutting. Edit: My speculation: From the perspective of the Producers every story needs an 'angle' and they seem to have gone for one about how some men are working to help women into tech. This may have been decided after the initial invite to Emma Mulqueeny and led to the invite being withdrawn. I don't know the process for finding guests but it probably involves junior researchers ringing round lots of potentially relevant people. At the very least the invite should have been more tentative and the dropping better handled. My feeling is that not having a woman both as an example of a woman in tech and to vouch that there are men helping girls and women into tech would have strengthened the section but I'm not a radio producer or in the main target demographic for Women's Hour so offer the view very tentatively. In my first post I just provided background for those less familiar with Radio 4 but no comment on the story itself but you have drawn me into expressing a view. Edit2: Women on TV and Radio was the topic of BBC Radio 4's Media Show this week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dv9hq http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dv9hq
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
DanBC 14y ago
No Willy, No Women's Hour Willy is juvenile slang for penis. "Women's Hour" is a long running programme on BBC Radio 4 covering a variety of issues from a women's perspective. > I also like Capital sometimes, Capital is some other commercial radio network. > satire is our bag, right? We enjoy satire. > the same bit of me that loves Boris being the Mayor of London. Boris Johnson, the current mayor of London, is a loveable buffoon who is immensely popular even though he's a politician. He's a bit of a guilty pleasure among some people. > It is not always helpful to be stabby and cross about things, Stabby - an informal colloquialism from "to stab", expressive of anger and violence. > who was a GP GP is "General Practitioner" - this is a family doctor. > was so totally gutted Totally disappointed; disheartened; dispirited. etc etc. Other people have covered the rest of it - a radio programme aimed at women wants to cover the lack of women in tech conferences and invited a woman to speak about it, but then called to cancel her because they actually wanted men to talk about the lack of women in tech conferences.