Women, alcohol and lockdown, The Equal Pay Act at 50, Public toilets, Giving birth in lockdown

An editorial in the British Medical Journal reported that one in five harmful and dependent drinkers got the help they needed, and now the proportion will be lower. How do you cope with an alcohol problem under lockdown? We hear the experience of a listener, the journalist Catherine Renton who has been sober for over 3 years, and from Julia Sinclair, professor of Addiction Psychiatry, University of Southampton and consultant in alcohol addiction. She’s also chair of the Royal College of Psychiatry’s addiction faculty. It is fifty years since the Equal Pay Act became law. However, it’s proved tricky over the years for women to find out what their male comparators were earning. It’s also proved tricky for women without financial and legal support to use the law. However, cases have been brought over the years and as the law has been strengthened. Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC and Jane Hannon, Employment partner at the law firm DLA Piper discuss. The writer Michele Roberts discusses her memoir Negative Capability - written after the rejection of a novel by her publisher caused hurt and depression. Lizzie tells her story of giving birth during lockdown. We also hear from the obstetrician Dr Kenga Sivarajah. Council cuts have meant that there are 50% fewer public toilets than a decade ago. Coronavirus has caused even more closures – albeit temporarily. But where does that leave people who need urgent access to the loo? Jo Umbers from the Bladder and Bowel community explains how this issue is affecting women of all ages. Raymond Martin, from the British Toilet Association, discusses the economic and health importance of public toilets in a post-Covid world. Jackie Kay, the National Poet for Scotland, discusses her new online poetry and music festival Makar to Makar, which is streaming via the National Theatre of Scotland's YouTube channel. We also hear poetry from Gerda Stevenson and music from Claire Brown, who are both performing in the festival. Presenter: Jane Garvey

Producer: Dianne McGregor