Woman's Hour

Dame Stephanie Shirley – always known as Steve – tells us about her work revolutionising the workplace and as a major philanthropist.

On Tuesday, Leicester University are launching their 'Student Sex Worker Policy and Toolkit'. We hear from Professor Teela Sanders, a Professor of Criminology at Leicester University who explains why she is leading this initiative and the feminist commentator and journalist Sarah Ditum gives us her view.

Are men beginning to turn to cosmetics to improve their appearance in the same way as women? Danny Gray, who created the WarPaint make-up range for men believes this to be the case and the make-up artist, Lisa Eldridge, author of Face Paint: the History of Make-Up gives her thoughts.

What’s the best way to approach shyness in your child? We hear from Nadia Finer who runs an online programme for shy 7-14 year olds who want to feel braver, and more able to speak up and join in.

Is it time to end the idea that being in a couple is the superior way to live? We hear from Professor Sasha Roseneil the author of a new book, The Tenacity of the Couple-Norm.

And we discuss the therapeutic benefits of clay with Kate Malone, one of the UK’s leading potters and ceramicists – and Charlotte Clarkson, who’s been getting the chance to try out the medium at her local youth centre.

Presenter: Jane Garvey

This week the first part of The Ockenden Review into Maternity Services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS (SaTH) Trust was published. It urges improvements in the way mothers and babies are looked after, not just in Shrewsbury but across England. We talk to the local MP there, Lucy Allan, as well as Gill Walton from The Royal College of Midwives and Jayne Terry who's an obstetrician in London.

We have part 2 of our series which talks to parents about puberty blockers. Today we hear from a mum, who we're calling Nichola, who's seriously worried about her child taking them.

And Leicester University are launching a Student Sex Worker Policy and Toolkit. Why? What is it? And does it suggest that choosing sex-work as a option for earn money whilst studying is a good idea? We discuss with Professor Teela Sanders from Leicester University, and Sarah Ditum, who's a feminist writer and columnist.

Last week the High Court ruled that it was ‘unlikely that children under 16 could give informed consent to puberty blocking drugs. The Tavistock - which runs the only clinics in the UK that have been offering this treatment on the NHS – is seeking to appeal the judgement. Meanwhile NHS England have suspended all new referrals for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the under 16’s. Children already on the drugs will have their cases reviewed, and a court order will be required to start or to continue treatment. We asked you to get in touch if you were affected. Today, we hear from ‘Jen’ – not her real name – whose 14 year old was due to start assessment for puberty blockers this week. On Friday, a parent we’re calling Nicola who has serious concerns about this treatment for her child, talks to us.

Around 90% of the goods we buy spend at least some of their life travelling the world's oceans. Cargo ships are efficient in terms of cost but burn large quantities of thick, unrefined fossil fuels and generate more emissions each year than Germany or Canada. So how can this globally-important industry reduce its impact on the planet? Diane Gilpin, CEO of Smart Green Shipping, believes that harnessing the tried-and-tested method of wind power and sail could halve emissions and save millions in costs on fuel. She talks to Jane about how intelligent, 40m-high aluminium sails will bring shipping into the 21st century.

Kate Malone is one of the UK’s leading potters and ceramicists – and she is keen to share the therapeutic benefits of working with clay. She joins Jane along with Charlotte Clarkson, who’s getting the chance to try the medium for herself at a local youth centre.

Somali- born Ifrah Ahmed was just eight when she was subjected to female genital mutilation. At 17, she was smuggled out of the country alone and ended up in Ireland. She’s now an Irish citizen and a successful campaigner against the practice of FGM. She was instrumental in bringing about legislation banning the practice in Ireland. Her inspiring story has been made into a film ‘A Girl from Mogadishu’ and she joins Jane to tell her story, along with the film’s director Mary McGuckian

Presenter: Jane Garvey

Boris Johnson is in Brussels today to have a face to face meeting with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. They’re trying to find a post-Brexit trade deal. So how will the dynamics work between the two? Sonia Purnell used to work with Boris Johnson in Brussels when they wrote for the Telegraph together. She’s written a biography about him. And Maria von Welser knows Ursula von der Leyen. They wrote a book together about women in German society.

What’s the best way to approach shyness in your child? Nadia Finer joins Andrea to offer her advice. She runs an online programme called The Mighty Mob. It's for 7-14 year olds who want to feel braver, more able to speak up and join in, and more comfortable to be themselves. Nadia, who is shy herself, says that shy children do not need to change who they are, nor should we make them.

In her new cookbook The Home Cookery Year, Claire Thomson offers solutions for quick dishes that are easy to make in minimal time at the end of a busy working day. The former chef and mother of three discusses cooking with her children during lockdown, with only half a kitchen, and how to Cook the Perfect…Brussels Sprout Galette with Pancetta & Chestnuts.

We’ve been asking women how it feels to reach the age their mum was when she died. Today’s story is a bit different. Beth is 24 and her story is complicated. When she heard we were looking for stories on this subject she thought, at first, that she didn’t have anything to say.

Extinction Rebellion has used civil disobedience to put the climate crisis firmly at the top of the news agenda. It’s also attracted women and whole families to take to the streets to protest for the first time in their lives. Gail Bradbrook, the co-founder of XR and one of the women on this year’s Woman’s Hour Power List, joins Jane to talk about the support for – and criticisms of – the use of protest to bring about systemic change in the name of the planet.

Are men beginning to turn to cosmetics to improve their appearance in the same way women use them? According to Danny Gray, who created the WarPaint make-up range, says they are. He’s seen a huge increase in interest from men, which he partly puts down to the amount of time they’ve spent looking at themselves on Zoom. He discusses this trend, and the make-up artist, Lisa Eldridge, author of 'Face Paint; the History of Make-Up', explains the background behind men and their use of cosmetics.

It’s time to end the idea that being in a couple is the superior way to live, according to a new book, 'The Tenacity of the Couple-Norm'. The couple-norm is the ubiquitous idea that being in a couple is the normal, natural and better way of living. It’s such a powerful norm that being in a couple is almost synonymous with being a successful adult. The authors – academics from 4 different countries - argue that, amidst enormous transformations in our ideas about family life and relationships in past decades, this norm has remained largely unchallenged and unchanged, making life difficult for anyone who departs from it. The lead author, Professor Sasha Roseneil, joins Jane.

Gail Newsham features in the latest series of The Game Changers podcast which showcases trailblazing women in sport. Gail Newsham has spent the last three decades researching and sharing the story of the Dick, Kerr Ladies. One hundred years ago over 50,000 turned out to watch them play a match. She explains why the team was so important in the history of women’s football.

Presenter: Jane Garvey

Interviewed Guest: Gail Bradbrook

What goes on in the ladies? Office gossip, getting locked-in, the most embarrassing moments, confessing to a stranger, a place for bonding, bullying, and bunking-off? We hear your stories about women’s toilets, with Comedian Shazia Mirza and Historian Claudia Elphick.

Dame Stephanie Shirley – always known as Steve – joins Jane to talk about her career-spanning book of speeches So to Speak. Now 87, she’s a successful IT entrepreneur who revolutionised the workplace for women and is now a major philanthropist. She's in demand for public speaking and often starts by giving her own story of arriving here on the Kindertransport in 1939, one of 10,000 Jewish children fleeing Nazi Germany. She says she has done more since that day than she would ever have believed possible.

We continue our series on family secrets. Today we hear about a woman in her late forties who has a secret which has affected her life since she was a teenager.

And we get the latest about vaccines from GP Sarah Jarvis.

Non-essential shops reopened in England this week after the second Lockdown - thousands of jobs now hang in the balance. We hear from Joanne Cairns, deputy head of research at USDAW and Catherine Shuttleworth, retail analyst.

The Woman’s Hour Power List recognises the work of 30 inspiring women who are making a positive contribution to the environment and the sustainability of our planet. Beccy Speight, CEO of the RSPB which is the UK’s largest conservation charity and Miranda Lowe, Curator at the Natural History Museum in London talk about their work to spark our interest in the environment and nature.

Two of this year’s TechWomen100 Award winners June Angelides MBE and Rav Bumbra on how to encourage more women and girls to work in the tech industries.

Many women have been underpaid state pension. Steve Webb, partner at Lane, Clark and Peacock and Jasmine Birtles financial expert and director of MoneyMagpie explain.

What makes an evil woman. We hear from Professor of History at Birkbeck and Rhetoric Professor at Gresham College talks about her interest in evil women.

Festive Drinks. Sandra Lawrence from The Cocktail Lovers magazine talks about classic cocktails.

Presenter: Jane Garvey

Sandrae Lawrence from the Cocktail Lovers Magazine stirs up some Christmas spirit in the Woman's Hour studio with a selection of festive drinks ideas. She'll be preparing traditional Snowballs and telling us about wassails to warm your guests with whilst entertaining outdoors. As Hollyoaks tackles the issue of post partum psychosis we hear from Hannah Bissett from Action on Post-partum Psychosis and Dr Ayesha Rahim, who's a perinatal psychiatrist at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust and we hear Titania's story about Outliving her mum.

Is the continued use of Joint Enterprise, where an individual can be jointly convicted of the crime of another, unjust?

Next week, 800,000 doses of the first coronavirus vaccine will be available. It seems female scientists scientists have been front and centre of the work. According to The Royal College of Pathologists nearly half of their members who specialise in virology are women. We hear from Dr Katrina Pollock from Imperial College, London and Professor Trudie Lang from University of Oxford Both institutions are leaders in virology and work closely together. They tell us about working in the field and what it's like as a career for a woman. Plus we hear from trainee Lydia Gale.

Why did Becky Cooper spend a decade investigating the death, 50 years ago, of Harvard student Jane Britton?

Plus we continue in our series of my life in shoes: Ciara Jones emailed to tell us about the shoes that have given her hope. From her mum’s high heels when she was stuck in flat black leather shoes after hip treatment, to the bubblegum pink stilettoes she’s looking forward to wearing after covid, Ciara shares her stories with us today.

Presenter Krupa Padhy

Guest; Becky Clarke

The Woman’s Hour Power List 2020: Our Planet is celebrating the women making a significant contribution to the environment. Today, we’re speaking to two women who strive to spark a lifelong love of nature in others. Beccy Speight is the CEO of the RSPB, the UK’s largest conservation charity and Miranda Lowe is a curator at the Natural History Museum in London.

The High Court has ruled that children under 16 with gender dysphoria are ‘unlikely’ to be able to give informed consent to undergo treatment with puberty-blocking drugs. The case had been brought against Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust. Health Correspondent for BBC Newsnight Deborah Cohen joins Krupa to explain the judgment and its potential implications for clinical practice.

In the recent US election an estimated 90% of black women voters supported President-elect Joe Biden. And while college-educated white women further cemented their shift to Democrat support, white women overall continued to vote for President Donald Trump. We speak to Professor of Political Science, Wendy Smooth from Ohio State University about what created this divide, the significance of the women’s vote and the overall pattern of women’s political choice.

What makes an ‘evil woman’? From Eve and her original evil, to the true horrors of Myra Hindley, Professor Joanna Bourke’s new series of Gresham College lectures explore some of the women described as such – and how the bar for evil has changed over time.