During the Christmas period I had one of those, 'have I woken up in the 1950s?' moments.
I was lying in bed, relishing not having to be anywhere in particular with BBC Radio 4 gently playing in the background (I am an addict). I wasn’t especially listening to the content, just the comforting voices of Justin Webb and Evan Davis, my favourite combination, presenting the Today Programme.
After a while I realised that I hadn’t heard any female voices at all; not a presenter (they have five regular presenters and only one is a woman), not forecasting the weather, and not as a contributor. Eventually of course a woman’s voice was heard but I think she was preceded by about an hour of men talking (Newsnight by the way, is generally much better at finding a more representative mix to talk on serious topics – kudos to them).
I Tweeted the adorable Evan @EvanHD and asked about it. He replied that they had two guest editors coming up who were women, (they were good; I managed to be fully awake for them) but it isn’t really the point.
Similarly with other festive TV. Of the quizzes or comedy panels I watched some didn’t even manage to muster even one token women and were totally male. Of those that did the men always outnumbered the women. Always. It’s very obvious in comedy (by the way, look out for an interview with Lynne Parker @FunnyWomenLynne on my website who set up Funny Women 10 years ago, coming soon.) I can’t believe that the viewing public don’t think women are funny (thinking immediately of the return of Ab Fab on our small screens and the rise of Sarah Millican) or that there aren’t female comics out there available for panel shows!
So come on media folks, the BBC in particular. You are funded by the viewing public so do your best to represent ALL of the viewing public, particularly on serious current affairs programmes. I’m not saying every programme should have a 50/50 split, or that I don’t enjoy the male contributors, I do. But I do believe that our national broadcaster should make a huge effort to be representative. It matters, it really does matter.
Jane Woods is a writer, a coach/consultant, and designs and delivers courses specialising in women’s personal development. She works alongside women to help them achieve maximum success in their lives. For more information visit www.changingpeople.co.uk. If you want to join in the discussion on Twitter, follow Jane at @JaneCWoods.