Woman's Hour

There was a plan to supply all Y7 students with Raspberry Pie computers which were to enable the teaching of coding. My Y7 DGS (the family geek) hasn't heard of this scheme, so it sounds as if the DfE has 'forgotten' it. In his primary school he attended a 'coding club' in his lunch hour and is more knowledgeable about programming than the adults in the family.

Apologies, I now find that the said computer is called Raspberry Pi.

But come to think of it, my cousin who is a surgical registrar keeps herself strong and fit by .... pole dancing.

Love it JessM

anno I think i would prefer Raspberry Pie these days.

One of my daughters trained as a graphic designer and was the only woman. Another is a midwife, which is overwhelmingly a female career. Should we be campaigning (on Woman's Hour) for equal numbers of men and women in these careers? I think there are far more important things to get worked-up about.

Women have far more choice these days than when we were young when the choices were mainly teaching, nursing or office work.
One of the girls in my 6th form wanted to be a surgeon and was scoffed at by the school.

I do not believe there is a 'glass ceiling' stopping women. Professionally qualified women would be very likely to marry men of similar status, and it may be that one party would choose to combine their career with juggling the household and family. I believe there is a projected shortage of medical doctors as many women are choosing to work part time. Emily MacDonagh (Peter Andre's wife) is an example of a newly qualified doctor who, I believe, chooses to work two days a week.

And, vickymeldrew, your point is?

It's choice?

That's quite probable.

Is this indicative of the sort of "choice" that women find at work:

Guardian March 2013

"Women are suffering escalating levels of illegal discrimination at work when they get pregnant and are often made redundant while they are on maternity leave, according to a new poll.

"1 in 7 women surveyed had lost their job while on maternity leave, 40% said their jobs had change by the time they returned, with half reporting a cut in hours or demotion.

"One woman who contacted Maternity Action was Sarah, from the south-east. She wrote: "I was both anxious and excited about going back to work … I'd agonised over childcare and paid a large deposit at our local nursery. I'd left my son there for two weeks to get him used to it gradually. I had to buy new clothes as none of my old ones fitted any more … Like many women, I felt unconfident about going back – but also exhilarated. The day came, I dropped my baby off, and arrived at work early and raring to go. The head of personnel invited me for a coffee to explain that, with regret, I was being made redundant."

No wonder some women feel obliged to get back to work as quickly as possible, even if it means leaving a very young baby all day in a nursery.

My mind boggles that a medical Doctor would marry a Peter Andre type.
(That remark is just a sociological observation.)

rosequartz I know. mystified. Not the type you'd think would go for that. No make up etc person. But it does make you very strong of course.

DGD2 loves 'pole-dancing' if she comes across one outside anywhere! She's 4. Perhaps she's getting in training for becoming a surgeon