''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme
broadcast
Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
on the
BBC Light Programme,
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
, and later
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
The first BBC programme for women was the programme called ''Women's Hour'', which was first broadcast on 2 May 1923. The BBC was then a brand new organisation, just a few months old, grappling with the sorts of programmes that might appeal to its small but growing audience. With married women firmly based in the home, either through convention or because of marriage bars, the BBC would have been aware of this
captive daytime audience. The person brought in to oversee ''Women's Hour'' was Mrs
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
, a former
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
journalist, and the inaugural programme included two talks, one on "The Adoption of Babies" given by
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (Alice Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline; 25 February 1883 – 3 January 1981) was a member of the British royal family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal, and one of the longest-lived Britis ...
, the other on "Fashions" by the couturier,
Lady Duff Gordon.
Broadcast six days a week, initially at 5pm, ''Women's Hour'' encompassed topics such as cookery, infant welfare, poultry keeping, tennis, beauty culture, electricity in the home, society gossip and gardening. In many ways, it replicated the sorts of items that were then found in the women's pages of newspapers and Ella Fitzgerald often drew on her journalist friends to write and present talks. So, for example, regular "Kitchen Conversations" were given by the famous cookery writer
Constance Peel while
Edith Shackleton Heald spoke about journalism as a potential career for women. There was also space for political talks: the former
suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...
,
Mary Emmott, who sat on a number of local government committees, spoke on "How Local Government affects the Home", Alderman Miss Smee, who chaired
Acton Council's Public Health Committee gave a talk on "Women and Public Health" and
Lettice Fisher, the founder of the
National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child, talked about "Education".
The talks were broadcast from the BBC's first purpose-built studio at
Savoy Hill
Savoy (; ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Valley i ...
, just off
The Strand in London, where the organisation was based for its first ten years. It would have been quite a daunting process. Speakers would have waited outside the large curtain-draped space, clutching their scripts. When the time came to deliver their talk, they would then have stood before a large box-like structure – the microphone – where they would have been given a cue to start. It was then just a matter of continuing on until finished, hopeful that they hadn't spoken too slowly or too fast or made too many mistakes. In the absence of any recordings, it's not possible to know what these talks would have sounded like, but reception on rudimentary wireless sets would have been very poor. It's also impossible to know who would have been tuning-in to the programme in these very early days, but most probably they were the wives and mothers of radio enthusiasts who, evidence suggests, were overwhelmingly male.
Things would change for ''Women's Hour'' in December 1923, with the establishment of a Women's Advisory Committee to oversee the running of the programme. Amongst the prestigious membership were the Chairman of the
National Federation of Women's Institutes, Lady Denman; the actress
Dorothea Baird
Dorothea Baird (20 May 1875 – 24 September 1933) was an English stage and film actress.
Career
Her first stage appearance was with the Oxford University Dramatic Society in February 1894, when she played Iris in ''The Tempest''. She was s ...
; the physician Dr
Elizabeth Sloan Chesser and
Violet Cambridge, the Secretary of the
Women's Amateur Athletics Association. The first full meeting, in January 1924, raised questions about the sorts of talks that should be included in ''Women's Hour'' and also the time of day that it was broadcast. It was decided that two members of the Committee, Mrs Hardman Earle (who had worked for the
Ministry of Food and Public Kitchens during the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
) and
Evelyn Gates (who was Editor-in-Chief of ''The Women's Yearbook'') should appear on the following Saturday's programme to canvas listener views. The case for practical domestic talks was put forward by Hardman Earle while Evelyn Gates championed the case for lighter, escapist talks and listeners were also asked about when they could best tune-in.
The results of the 'plebiscite', as it was termed, were discussed at the February meeting of the Women's Advisory Committee. With the majority of the letters received (326 in all) voting for leisure rather than domestic talks, it was agreed that these should feature more prominently in the programme, which would be moved to a new time of 4pm. Writing about the change in the BBC listings periodical ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'', Ella Fitzgerald explained how "a tour of
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
" was substituted for "the cure of constipation" while "talks on the English countryside" replaced those about "stocking the kitchen cupboard". The decision was also taken at the meeting to abolish the name ''Women's Hour''; in future ''Radio Times'' would simply state that "talks of general interest but with particular appeal to women" would be placed either side of the afternoon concert.
Created by
Norman Collins and originally presented by
Alan Ivimey, ''Woman's Hour'' was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the
BBC Light Programme.
Janet Quigley, who was also involved with the birth of the UK radio programme ''
Today'', has been credited with "virtually creating" the programme.
The programme was transferred to its current home in 1973. Over the years it has been presented by Mary Hill (19461963),
Joan Griffiths (19471949),
Olive Shapley (19491953),
Jean Metcalfe (19501968),
Violet Carson (19521956),
Marjorie Anderson (19581972),
Teresa McGonagle (19581976),
Judith Chalmers (19661970),
Sue MacGregor (19721987),
Jenni Murray
Dame Jennifer Susan Murray, (''née'' Bailey; born 12 May 1950) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's '' Woman's Hour'' from 1987 to 2020.
Early life
Murray was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yo ...
(1987–2020),
Martha Kearney
Martha Catherine Kearney (born 8 October 1957) is a British-Irish journalist and broadcaster. She was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's lunchtime news programme '' The World at One'' for 11 years.
In April 2018, Kearney joined the presenting ...
(1998 to March 2007), and
Jane Garvey (8 October 2007 to December 2020). Fill-in presenters have included
Andrea Catherwood,
Sangita Myska,
Sheila McClennon,
Carolyn Quinn,
Jane Little,
Ritula Shah,
Oona King, and
Amanda Platell. In September 2020 it was announced that
Emma Barnett would become the lead presenter of ''Woman's Hour'' after the retirement of Jenni Murray, who presented her final edition on 1 October 2020. Barnett, who had been a fill-in presenter a number of times previously, became the youngest woman to regularly present the programme in January 2021.
Anita Rani
Anita Rani Nazran (born 25 October 1977), better known as Anita Rani, is a British radio and television presenter.
Early life
Rani was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and grew up in Heaton, West Yorkshire, Heaton and Odsal. Her parents were ...
became the successor to Garvey as the second presenter in the same month.
In the early years the topics for the programme were arranged well in advance and printed in the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' but by the 1980s there was a change to greater topicality.
Clare Selerie-Gray became the producer in 1987 and steered the programme away from its tendency to include merely whimsical topics and ensured that the books read in the last section were more relevant to women's lives rather than ordinary novels. She responded to criticism that the programme was too feminist by asserting that it avoided "''
Spare Rib'' didactics" but that a
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
influence on the people who made it had occurred.
On 31 December 2004, the show became ''Man's Hour'' for one day only, on which it was presented by
Channel 4 News
''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982.
Current productions ''Channel 4 News''
''Channel 4 News'' ...
anchor
Jon Snow. On 18 July 2010, after 64 years of ''Woman's Hour'', the BBC began broadcasting a full series called ''
Men's Hour'' on
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
, presented by
Tim Samuels.
In 2006, Woman's Hour had 2.7 million listeners.
For one week in April 2014, the programme was guest edited by
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...
,
Kelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality.
Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...
,
Naomi Alderman
Naomi Alderman (born 1974) is an English novelist, Game design, game writer, and television executive producer. She is best known for her speculative science fiction novel ''The Power (Alderman novel), The Power'', which won the Women's Prize f ...
,
Doreen Lawrence
Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, (; born 1952 in Jamaica), is a British Jamaican campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in 1993. ...
and
Lauren Laverne
Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and guitarist in the alternative rock band Kenicki ...
. It was the first time the programme had a guest editor since its initial decade of broadcast.
In September 2015, the programme hosted "Woman's Hour Takeover" with a week of guest editors, including
Kim Cattrall,
Nimko Ali
Nimko Ali (), alternatively spelled Nimco (born ), is a British social activist of Somali people, Somali heritage. She is the co-founder and CEO of The Five Foundation, a global partnership to end female genital mutilation (FGM).
Ali underw ...
,
Rachel Treweek,
Michelle Mone and
Jacqueline Wilson.
''
Late Night Woman's Hour'', a spinoff series, was launched in 2015, presented by
Lauren Laverne
Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and guitarist in the alternative rock band Kenicki ...
. The series is broadcast in an 11pm timeslot and each episode takes a single topic for discussion.
The lateness of the broadcast allows for more freedom to handle topics considered unsuitable for the morning broadcast.
The programme has an annual "power list" of highly achieving women. The annual power list is determined by a panel of judges.
On 18 March 2011, ''Woman's Hour'' was the first live broadcast from the new
dock10 studios at
Media City in
Salford
Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
.
In 2013, the programme had 3.9 million listeners, 14% of whom were men.
In October 2016, it was recorded that the programme had 3.7 million listeners weekly and was the second most popular daily podcast across BBC Radio. A quarter of its audience were reported to be under 35 and 40% male.
Format
The bulk of the programme has always consisted of reports, interviews and debates on health, education, cultural and political topics aimed at women and mothers. However, until 2021 these occupied only the first 45 minutes of the hour. The final 15 minutes consisted of more lightweight entertainment, usually fiction, still broadly directed at women. Prior to 1998, this slot featured readings. From 1998 to 2021 it featured short-run drama
serials, known initially as ''Woman's Hour Drama'' and later as ''
15 Minute Drama''. One of the most popular of these was the recurring ''
Ladies of Letters'' serial, starring
Prunella Scales
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English retired actress. She portrayed Sybil Fawlty, the bossy wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy ''Fawlty Towers'' and Queen Elizabeth ...
and
Patricia Routledge. The drama slot was dropped in 2021, since when the full hour of ''Woman's Hour'' has been given over to reports and interviews etc.
Schedule
''Woman's Hour'' has been broadcast at 10am Monday to Friday since
James Boyle's revision of the Radio 4 schedules in April 1998. Between September 1991 and April 1998 it was broadcast at 10:30am, having previously gone out for many years in an early afternoon slot (2pm). The programme's move to a morning slot was unpopular among some listeners who, for family or other reasons, work only in the morning.
Michael Green, the then controller of Radio 4, made his decision the previous year and considered the elimination of the programme title. ''Weekend Woman's Hour'' is broadcast on Saturday afternoons at 4pm, features highlights of the previous week introduced by one of the presenters and lasts almost an hour. Additionally, episodes are made available as a podcast following the broadcast of each programme.
Music
In its earlier years, it used a variety of popular light classics as signature tunes, including such pieces as H. Elliott-Smith's ,
Anthony Collins' ''Vanity Fair'', and the lively Overture from
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...
's . From the early 1970s, specially composed pieces were used, several of which were provided by the
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was one of the sound effects units of the BBC, created in 1958 to produce Incidental music, incidental sounds and new music for radio and, later, television. The unit is known for its experimental and pioneering ...
.
There is also a band called
Woman's Hour, based in the UK and signed to the record label
Secretly Canadian, who took their name from the radio show.
Controversies
Breach of BBC impartiality rules
A listener complained about the 1 October 2018, edition of ''Woman's Hour'', which featured an item discussing the nomination of Judge
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...
to the
US Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. The feature included an interview with a law professor who had worked with
Anita Hill, in her pursuit of a
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
complaint against an earlier nominee, Judge
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...
. The listener believed that allusions to the earlier case were immaterial and prejudicial, that the selection of interviewee was biased, and that presenter
Jane Garvey had expressed her personal view on a controversial topic.
The BBC Executive Complaints Unit partially upheld the listener's complaint, stating that Garvey gave the impression of sympathising with the interviewee's viewpoint, and "did not challenge the interviewee in a manner which would have ensured due impartiality". As a result, the ''Woman's Hour'' team and production staff attended a briefing on impartiality.
Sinead O'Connor
In 2021
Emma Barnett interviewed
Sinéad O'Connor
Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...
on ''Woman's Hour'', during which Barnett mentioned a recent comment by a music critic referring to O'Connor as "the crazy woman in pop's attic". O'Connor felt that bringing this up was "unnecessary and hurtful". The interview prompted O'Connor to announce she was quitting music, though she later retracted this, stating that Barnett had been to blame:
Feminism
Former ''Woman's Hour'' presenter
Jenni Murray
Dame Jennifer Susan Murray, (''née'' Bailey; born 12 May 1950) is an English journalist and broadcaster, best known for presenting BBC Radio 4's '' Woman's Hour'' from 1987 to 2020.
Early life
Murray was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yo ...
is president of the
Fawcett Society
The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. From 190 ...
and a former
patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of the charity
Women's Aid
Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within England, is one of a group of charities across the United Kingdom. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, 3 for each of the countries of the United Kingdom, and one for t ...
.
In April 2014, Radio 4's
Roger Bolton noted on the BBC's ''
Feedback
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...
'' Blog: "As you well know BBC programmes are supposed to be impartial but I'm not sure if that can be said of ''Woman's Hour'', at least when it comes to feminism. ''Woman's Hour'' is in fact a powerful advocate for women's empowerment and this week as part of that campaign it produced its second power list."
Awards and nominations
See also
*''
Late Night Woman's Hour''
*''
Woman's Hour Drama''
References
External links
*
*
{{BBC Radio 4
BBC Light Programme programmes
BBC Radio 2 programmes
BBC Radio 4 programmes
Women's mass media
Women in the United Kingdom
1946 radio programme debuts
1940s British radio programmes
1950s British radio programmes
1960s British radio programmes
1970s British radio programmes
1980s British radio programmes
1990s British radio programmes
2000s British radio programmes
2010s British radio programmes
2020s British radio programmes