Woman's Hour

apricot, your point about the pay gap being largely down to so many women working part time in order to care for children seems to have been made without any irony. As someone mentioned earlier on this thread, children have fathers as well as mothers. Despite a lot of progress social, father's generally being much more involved in child care and legislation supporting flexible working it continues to be assumed that women will do the bulk of the child care.
I am not criticising women who make the choice to work part time, or take a break from work when they have children.

Sorry, apricot, I did wonder

Yes, women are out there doing those jobs but it doesn't mean that everyone wants to strive to do them (I have never met a female safe-cracker, but then I've never met a male one either )
I do know a young woman who drives an enormous dump truck in the mines - and very feminine she is too!

And there is quite a movement of young women who believe it is important not to work when they have young children.

It wasn't a wind up. I'm grateful to those who fought hard for women's rights but Women's Hour is still mostly in the 1950s, convinced that all women are down-trodden victims.
If a girl wants to go into engineering (or almost any other career) there's nothing to stop her. We don't need them to if they don't want to as there are lots of boys who find it interesting.
Isn't the pay gap largely due to so many women doing part-time jobs to fit in with childcare?
I don't want WH to be all about cookery and kids, just a better balance to include a wider audience. My heart sinks when they interview yet another female crane-driver, coal miner or safe-cracker. As long as anyone does their job well it doesn't matter a damn whether they are man or woman. Our gender is only sometimes crucial.

Hello Galen, must be telepathy, I was wondering how you are as I hadn't noticed any posts from you lately

The only time I would listen to WH would be in the car, I never concentrate on the radio in the daytime at home, it is just background noise if it's on at all.

I can't own up to being much of a fan of WH generally because I rarely turn the radio on but out of the blue I tuned in recently and just caught the end of a piece that has been life-changing. What I heard produced one of those lovely, rare light-bulb moments that mean so much to the individual. Of course it was information from a female perspective, hence the 'ah-ha!' so I think I owe WH a great big thank you. I haven't listened since, perhaps I ought to just to show my sisterly gratitude??

Come on Apricot - show your hand

I am with you you Nellimoser.....WH is a great programme especially
when Jane Garvey is in the chair, she challenges the guests she does not
acquiesce by any stretch of the imagination! Women need a programme
such as this to inform and educate. It's a b....y hard and dangerous world out there and women are no where near on a equal footing with men, so balanced enlightenment from what ever source, is welcome in my book.

When I qualified, x years ago. 20% of us were female. Now the intake to medical schools is over 50% female.
I think this shows women are succeeding in some fields

cutted and pasted and they didn't work

you forgot yer do-das.

As far as I'm concerned you can shout at Jenni Murray all you like apricot grin
I just don't turn her on in the first place (or read any of her articles)
annoying woman

I reckon I need to stick to knitting because I just posted the above on a Jeremy Corbyn thread

(has he been on Woman's Hour?)

I changed my mind, unlike JBC.

TriciaF there was a Men's Hour on radio five, but I think t may have been cut due to lack of support. Use it or loose it!

I am definitely NOT a feminist. But I solidly support Equality. Equality of opportunity between sexes, ages, colour and physical abilities. Things have moved on.

I sad now. Gave up knitting years ago. Well, managed a couple of jackets for DGS2. That was ten years ago.

I aint going on no knitting threads.

Bye bye. Sob! sniff!

I'm sticking to the knitting threads

I missed out 'this'. that's a link there.

apricot's OP on thread is very funny.

Why would it be a wind-up? Just because someone suggested it might be, doesn't make it so!

I thought someone said that this thread was a wind-up?
Obviously sarcasm would be out of place on a serious thread or one where someone was worried about a personal situation.

I give up,some people will always see them selves as victims.Unless you toughen up,there's no hope.
And for the record,I mostly say person because I think we are all equal.To think otherwise is to lesson yourself.

What about women working in the countryside?

Rural working women?
We have radios these days too.

Tricia F says that women have their own way of getting what they want. For goodness sake. No need for woman's hour? I think so

sarcasm is the lowest form of wit

It takes a very witty person to be successfully sarcastic

As a working person with Radio 4 as my constant companion I listen to and enjoy WH. So does my husband. Some of the younger guests on WH can be a bit over earnest on their subject, but surely that is to be applauded not derided? If this forum was all about 'domestic issues' I wouldn't be on it. Does this make me an urban working woman? And DH an urban working man?

Why is there a need to have a programme just for women? There isn't one called "Men's Hour".
We should be aiming at sharing on equal terms, living in eachother's worlds.
And no I'm not against feminism altogether, eg equal pay for equal work is essential. But I don't think we need to be so strident, women have their own methods of getting what they want without that.
And joining men in the workplace - in my longest job (20+ years) I started as the only woman with 9 men. When I retired their were 6 women and 4 men.

I don't think so! I hate it.