Woman's Hour

Today Radio 4 launches Rethink - a series of essays and discussions right across BBC Radio that ask how the world might change after the pandemic. We begin with an essay from Stirling Prize winning architect Amanda Levete asking how we could design the world around us differently. Has being confined to our homes and immediate communities taught us new things about what we need and want from them? How will more remote working change the role of the office? How might we now start to build for better and more equal societies? Jane is joined by architect Elsie Owusu OBE, economist Kate Raworth and 2019 Stirling Prize winner Annalie Riches, all with their own ideas of how Covid-19 could transform our homes and communities.Some medics have expressed concerns over a possible future rise in stillbirths and harm to babies because pregnant women in need of attention may have avoided seeking professional help during the pandemic. Jane speaks to Dr Maggie Blott, Consultant Obstetrician and Lead for Obstetrics at the Royal Free in London and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.Trichotillomania is often referred to as “hair-pulling disorder”. It’s thought it affects 1 in 50 people, with 80% of them women. Why do people do it? And what can be done to help people stop? Jane discusses the condition with Roisin Kelly, who is a journalist at the Sunday Times Style magazine and has written about her personal experience, and Louise Watson, Chartered Counselling Psychologist and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, and Hattie Gilford who has her own dedicated Instagram account @my_trich_journey.Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel

Naomi Campbell the model, icon, and activist, who’s been at the summit of the fashion industry for over three decades tells us how she believes the fashion and beauty industry needs to play its part in bringing about change when it comes to racial equality.Who is doing the most when it comes to childcare and chores in heterosexual couples, and how might lock-down be changing things? We hear from Ali Lacey, a PhD researcher from Sussex University which is looking into this subject, Mary Ann Stevenson of the UK Women’s Budget Group and Francine Deutsch Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College in the US. The Science journalist Debora Mackenzie tells us about her book: COVID-19: the pandemic that never should have happened, and how to stop the next one. As two black British women writers - Bernadine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge - top the UK fiction and non-fiction bestseller charts for the first time, we hear from best-selling author of Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams and Sharmaine Lovegrove founder of Dialogue Books about the way the publishing industry treats black writers and readers.We hear why self-employed women are receiving less government support during coronavirus if they’ve taken maternity leave between April 2016 and March 2019. This is because maternity pay isn’t taken into account when calculating payments under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The group Pregnant Then Screwed is threatening the Chancellor with indirect sex discrimination. We speak to founder Joeli Brearley and the freelance journalist, Alex Lloyd. Susie Dent is a lexicographer, etymologist and linguist. She has appeared in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's Countdown since 1992. She tells us how language has evolved and about her new podcast with Gyles Brandreth. Presenter: Jenni Murray Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed Editor: Jane ThurlowInterviewed guest: Naomi Campbell Interviewed guest: Ali Lacey Interviewed guest: Mary Ann Stevenson Interviewed guest: Francine Deutsch Interviewed guest: Debora Mackenzie Interviewed guest: Candice Carty-Williams Interviewed guest: Sharmaine Lovegrove Interviewed guest: Joeli Brearley Interviewed guest: Alex Lloyd Interviewed guest: Susie Dent

Bernadine Evaristo’s bestseller Girl, Woman, Other is on plenty of reading lists after winning the 2019 Booker Prize, but what books are getting her through lockdown? One of them is Darling by Rachel Edwards - who joins Jenni to tell her all about her debut novel. Research shows that in lockdown, in heterosexual couples, women still do the majority of the childcare and chores. However, there has been a modest increase in the time men spend on these tasks overall. So could this be an opportunity to improve equality in the home? In April we ask you to get involved with research into how lockdown is affecting the well-being of families. The team at Sussex University now have their first set of preliminary results. PhD researcher Ali Lacey discusses their findings along with Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director of the UK Women’s Budget Group and Francine Deutsch, Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College in the US, and editor of Creating Equality at Home – How 25 Couples Around the World Share Housework and Childcare. You may have read in the papers this week that there are worries about the way the police are extracting and using information taken from mobile phones. Of particular concern was the use of such information where rape is alleged and there appears to be evidence that where a victim refuses to hand over a mobile, investigations are being brought to a halt. A report by the Information Commissioner’s Office argues that current mobile phone extraction practices and rules risk negatively affecting public confidence in the criminal justice system we hear from the Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird QC.Plus explorer Vanessa O’Brien, the first woman in the world to reach Earth’s highest and lowest points, on why she wants o inspire other women to take on challenges. Presenter Jenni Murray Producer Beverley PurcellGuest; Rachel Edwards Guest; Vanessa O’Brien Guest; Ali Lacey Guest; Mary-Ann Stephenson Guest; Prof. Francine Deutsch Guest; Dame Vera Baird QC

Naomi Campbell is an actress, an innovator, an icon, an activist, and a philanthropist who’s been at the summit of the fashion industry for over three decades. When Pat McGrath signed her up to be the global face of her makeup brand she said “she’s an inspiration to women, especially women of colour. She demonstrates that anything is possible”. Jenni talks to her about the collaboration, her reaction to the death of George Floyd and how the fashion and beauty industry needs to play its part in bringing about change.In just under five months’ time US voters will go to the polls. President Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence are set to face Joe Biden whoever he picks as his running mate. Biden has already said he will pick a woman – and in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, following the death of George Floyd, there is much speculation about the possible Black women he might pick. So how might this impact on the presidential election? And what will shape the key messages of Democrats and Republicans to women voters as the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic continues? Pork in cyder, grilled grapefruit and cheese scones, fruit salad with gherkins …just some of the dishes Georgie Williams has cooked in the last year as she’s worked her way through an old recipe book. She found it after buying a second hand sideboard – 365 recipes written in a 1968 diary which she’d like to reunite with the person who wrote it. Georgie shares pictures and videos of these culinary treats on her @forgottendelights Instagram account.The Welsh Government’s Farming Connect scheme is running online events all this week aimed at giving women the confidence and knowledge they need to help develop both their personal and business skills. Research shows that women’s development in agriculture is vital to increasing the size of the skilled workforce, as well as unlocking talent to help drive the industry forward. So what practical steps can be taken to start breaking down the barriers faced by women and to inspire them to reach their full potential? Joyce Campbell is a hill farmer on 5,500 acres in the north coast of Sutherland, Scotland and was co-chair of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce for Scotland. Anna Truesdale is a dairy farmer in Northern Ireland and Telerie Fielden is a shepherdess managing Llyndy Isaf, a 600 acre upland hill farm owned by the National Trust in Snowdonia.Presenter Jenni Murray Producer Clare Walker

Self-employed women are receiving less government support during coronavirus if they’ve taken maternity leave between April 2016 and March 2019 – because maternity pay isn’t taken into account when calculating payments under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The group Pregnant Then Screwed is now threatening the chancellor with indirect sex discrimination. It’s estimated between 75,000 and 80,000 women are affected. We speak to founder of Pregnant then Screwed, Joeli Brearley and the freelance journalist, Alex Lloyd who says the support she’s getting is about half what it could have been if average earnings had included maternity pay.Casey Stoney MBE is Former Captain of England and now Head Coach of Manchester United Women. We see the return of the men’s Premier League tonight, while the women’s season was ended early in May, and Casey joins Jenni to talk about the women’s game.Science journalist Debora Mackenzie talks about her book 'Covid-19: the pandemic that never should have happened & how to stop the next one’.There are concerns that covid lockdowns could be pushing up child marriage and violence against girls in Nepal. According to Voluntary Service Overseas the lockdown is reinforcing traditional gender roles and girls living in rural areas are especially affected. We hear from Geeta Pradham, their Global Gender Adviser.The writer and broadcaster Sali Hughes has been talking to women about objects in their lives that are important to them. Today it’s the turn of Nadia Shireen.Presenter Jenni Murray Producer Beverley PurcellGuest; Joeli Brearley Guest; Alex Lloyd Guest; Casey Stoney Guest; Debora Mackenzie Guest; Geeta Pradham Guest; Nadia Shireen

Some reports suggest the government won’t now go ahead with the reform of the Gender Recognition Act. If true, this means that people won’t be able to self-declare their gender. What will this mean for the wider debate? Jane speaks to Helen Belcher, co-founder of Trans Media Watch and chair of the national LGBT charity Consortium, and Joan Smith, Chair of the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls Board and author of ‘Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men Into Terrorists’.Susie Dent is a lexicographer, etymologist and linguist. She has appeared in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's 'Countdown' since 1992, and can also be seen on 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown, or ‘Catsdown’ as she calls it. She can also be heard alongside Gyles Brandreth on the award-nominated podcast Something Rhymes With Purple. She joins Jane to talk about how her love of words began with shampoo bottles, her research into modern tribes, 90s rap music lyrics and the meaning of cacoethes.For the past month Woman's Hour has been celebrating women who get things done – the Troupers. Today it’s the turn of Preethi Manuel who talks about the life of her daughter, fostering, and her role in campaigning for disabled children to have access to mainstream education.Non-essential retail shops are beginning to reopen, but will we actually want to go back? New technology is using artificial intelligence to make the experience of online shopping more fulfilling and more personalised. BBC Click reporter Lara Lewington tells Jane more.

As two black British women writers – Bernadine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge - top the UK fiction and non-fiction book charts for the first time, Jane asks bestselling author of Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams and Sharmaine Lovegrove founder of Dialogue Books, what publishing houses should be doing to make the trend last. The hashtag #publishingpaidme has shown that in many cases globally black women were paid smaller advances than their white counterparts – could we now see a step-change in the way the publishing industry treats black writers and readers?Iranian film maker Mina Keshavarz on her new documentary The Art of Living in Danger – which follows female lawyers in Iran campaigning to make domestic violence illegal. Mina also talks about her grandmother who’d taken her own life after suffering domestic abuse – and how she inspired the film. In the latest instalment of our series Troupers we speak to Calina Toqir, a well-known figure in Glasgow’s Roma community, brought to our attention by the Govanhill Housing Trust. This week Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will apparently be setting out plans for pupils in England to attend Summer Schools after abandoning plans to get all primary pupils back to school for a month before the summer break. Will they reach the pupils who really need them? Susannah Hardyman is chief executive of the education charity Action Tutoring; Natalie Perera is executive director at the Education Policy Institute, an independent research charity; and Dave McPartlin is headteacher of Flakefleet Primary in Lancs - how do they think it could work?Presented by Jane Garvey Produced by Jane ThurlowInterviewed guest: Candice Carty-Williams Interviewed guest: Mina Keshavarz Interviewed guest: Calina Toqir Interviewed guest: Susannah Hardyman Interviewed guest: Natalie Perera Interviewed guest: Dave McPartlin

The scientist Marie Skłodowska Curie is recognised throughout the world but how much do you really know about her and her ground breaking Nobel prize winning discoveries? The Oscar nominated star of Gone Girl on playing the Nobel prize winning scientist in the film Radioactive.The debt advice charity, Step Change, warned that British households are expected to rack up debts worth a combined £6bn because of the health emergency as they fell behind with their bills. And it looks like this will disproportionately impact on women. Jude Kelly, Founder of the Women of the World Festival who is involved in the Insuring Women’s Futures programme, Zubaida Haque, Interim Director of the Runnymede Trust and a member of the Independent Sage and a commissioner for the Women’s Budget Group and Amy Cashman, CEO of Kantar’s Insights Division discuss. Protests are expected this weekend across the UK. What do you do if your child wants to go? We hear from Monique Bouffé who is a member of the Black Protest Legal UK Support team, as well as Talja Parkinson who has three sons..Fertility clinics were told last month that they could reopen as long as social distancing measures were in place. Being without access to fertility treatment has left thousands of couples – as well as single women – worried that they might run out of chances to conceive. We hear from Dr Zeynep Gurtin, Lecturer at the Institute for Women's Health at University College London, Rachel Cuttings from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and Seetal Savla who has just restarted her fertility treatment. The historian Bettany Hughes talks about her new Channel 5 series A Greek Odyssey where she retraces the steps of Odysseus from the coast of Turkey where the mythical Trojan War took place to the island of Ithaca in the West of Greece. Florence Given is a 21-year-old artist, writer and feminist. In 2019 she was named Cosmopolitan’s Influencer of the Year. She has just written her first book, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty. She tells us why girls and women don’t owe prettiness to anyone.Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Dianne McGregor

Candice Brathwaite set up the group called Make Motherhood Diverse in order to set right a wrong. When pregnant, she didn't recognise anything in books and online that she could relate to. So she set up the group to reflect a broader spectrum of motherhood. She tells us about her debut book I Am Not Your Baby Mother, a guide to life as a Black British mum.Protests are expected this weekend across the UK. So what do you do if your child wants to go? What conversations should parents be having beforehand? What do children need to know about their rights and safety? We hear from Monique Bouffé who's a member of the Black Protest Legal UK Support team as well as Talja Parkinson who has three sons: her oldest, who's 16, has been protesting with his friends. The link between misogyny and domestic violence will be discussed by MPs next week as part of their line-by-line examination of the Domestic Abuse Bill. Some people want misogyny to be classed as a hate crime. Will it happen?Photo credit: Zoe Timmers

A picture is slowly emerging of what has happened to women’s personal finances since the Covid 19 pandemic began. The debt advice charity, Step Change, warned that British households are expected to rack up debts worth a combined £6bn because of the health emergency as they fell behind with their bills. And it looks like this will disproportionately impact on women. Jenni talks to Jude Kelly, Founder of the Women of the World Festival who is involved in the Insuring Women’s Futures programme, Zubaida Haque, Interim Director of the Runnymede Trust and a member of the Independent Sage and a commissioner for the Women’s Budget Group and Amy Cashman, CEO of Kantar’s Insights Division.The historian Bettany Hughes tells Jenni about her new series A Greek Odyssey where she retraces the steps of Odysseus from the coast of Turkey where the mythical Trojan War took place to the island of Ithaca in the West of Greece. Sailing through the Greek islands, she makes new archaeological discoveries, visits iconic sites and uncovers the truth around the myths and legends of the ancient world; including iconic women such as Hera, Helen, Calypso and Iphigenia. A Greek Odyssey with Bettany Hughes launches tomorrow, Friday 12 June, at 9pm on Channel 5. Coronavirus has made visible a group of people who were often invisible – volunteers. Thousands of people signed up to help the NHS as a volunteer. Local residents’ groups have got together to help those who can’t get to the shops, or to call people who might be experiencing severe isolation. Before lockdown, Woman’s Hour began interviewing women who volunteered in all sorts of areas – who see a gap, or a problem to be solved, and just get on with it – Troupers. They told their stories to Laura Thomas. Today it’s the turn of Jacqui Shimidzu, who runs the Hill Station Café in South London.Berta Cáceres – a celebrated Honduran environmental activist and indigenous leader – was murdered in 2016. She had dedicated her life to fighting for the land and water rights of indigenous Lenca communities in the west of the country. But after a relentless stream of threats, intimidation and harassment failed to deter her, Berta was brutally killed. Nina Lakhani was the only Western journalist to follow the trial and has herself faced threats and defamation campaigns in her quest to bring Berta’s story to a global audience. She talks to Jenni.Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel