Woman's Hour

New analysis from the Royal Society for Public Health shows a 14% reduction in the number of public toilets across England since 2016. The report warns that the lack of facilities is contributing to an increase in public urination, creating unhygienic conditions. But is the impact felt equally - or are women disproportionately affected? Nuala McGovern is joined by Gail Ramster, Senior Research Associate at the Royal College of Art who carries out inclusive design research around public toilets and co-author of a book 'Designing Inclusive Public Toilets: Wee the People'
Last week former Major General Tim Cross said UK youngsters on benefits should undertake military service. As anxiety about global conflict increases, what might military conscription look like for UK women? RAF veteran and reservist Amy Hill and Victoria Basham, Professor of International Relations at Cardiff University join Nuala to discuss.
Using cheerleading to appeal to girls and young women to stay engaged with sport is one of several recommendations in a new report from MPs aimed at getting people to move more. After a more than year-long inquiry the Culture, Media and Sport Committee discovered a patchy picture of how well community and school sport is meeting the needs of people in England. So is offering cheerleading the way forward? Sarah Bellew, Head of Communications at Women in Sport and Millie Fannin, who runs Swindon Lightening Cheerleading club discuss.
Four years after Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, the human cost of the war continues to mount. A new documentary looks back to the months before the invasion, following a group of young female journalists reporting independently as press freedom in Russia were under threat. It captures the danger they faced - and the friendship and humour that sustained them. Director of My Undesirable Friends Part 1: Last Air in Moscow Julia Loktev, and journalist Anna Nemzer, who features throughout the documentary, join Nuala.
In 2018, Rebecca Dale made history when she became the first female composer to sign to the prominent British classical music label, Decca Classics, and the first woman to sign to Decca publishing. Her debut album was programmed around her piece Requiem for my Mother and reached no. 1 in the specialist classical charts. Rebecca has been commissioned to compose by major organisations including the BBC and 20th Century Fox, in addition to having written for choirs and orchestras for studio albums. Rebecca’s latest album - Studies in Disappearing [Music for Screen] - is released on 15 May.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Emma Pearce

The singer-songwriter Jessie Ware's new album, Superbloom, was released this week. As well as being known for her music, Jessie's family’s passion for food led to the weekly podcast, Table Manners, that she co-hosts with her mother Lennie, featuring celebrity guests like Ed Sheeran and Kylie. Jessie joins Datshiane Navanayagam to talk about her new album, inspired by disco and funk and how she became more confident in her 40s.
We hear about a new report alleging breaches of the Online Safety Act. Children as young as 13 could be recommended sexually explicit content on the social media platform X, according to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, who say X's algorithm and what it describes as "weak safeguards" mean teenagers are also being exposed to possible direct sexual contact from adults. Imran Ahmed, CEO at the Centre for Countering Digital Hate joins Datshiane to explain.
For the first time, a woman has been appointed to coach a men's team in one of Europe's top five football leagues. Marie-Louise Eta has been named interim Head Coach of Union Berlin in the German Bundesliga, the equivalent of the Premier League here. It's a sudden appointment, until the end of the season, and it follows a string of losses and the dismissal of the previous coach. We talk to Rosi Webb, previously one of the few female coaches in charge of a men's team in England for five years, alongside Laura McAllister, former international footballer and Vice President of UEFA.
Figures show there are close to one million people diagnosed with dementia in the UK, of which two thirds are women. A campaign to highlight the caring duties that fall on the families of those diagnosed with young-onset dementia launches this week. We hear from Emilia, who spent her teenage years tussling with the medical community to get her mother - in her late 40s - diagnosed, and Amy Pagan from the charity Younger People With Dementia.
Scottish comedian Susie McCabe is a stalwart of the BBC comedy scene - from The News Quiz and Breaking the News to Just a Minute and Have I Got News For You? It was in 2024, while touring, that she had a heart-attack. She was only in her mid-forties at the time. It made her not only take a long hard look at her life, but it also inspired her latest show, Best Behaviour. Susie joins Nuala McGovern to discuss making comedy gold out of life's trials and tribulations.
Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Simon Richardson

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Today is primary school offer day in England and Wales, when parents will be finding out where their children might be starting school in September. A new government-backed campaign has been launched to help parents and carers as figures show that over a third of children are currently starting reception without the basic skills they need for the classroom. Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by BBC Education reporter Kate McGough and Felicity Gillespie from children’s charity Kindred Squared, to talk about what parents and carers need to know.
The singer-songwriter Jessie Ware's new album, Superbloom, was released this week. As well as being known for her music, Jessie's family’s passion for food led to the weekly podcast Table Manners, that she co-hosts with her mother Lennie, featuring celebrity guests like Ed Sheeran and Kylie. Jessie joins Datshiane to talk about her new album inspired by disco and funk and how she became more confident in her 40s.
Autism Central is an online support service for the parents and carers of autistic people. Set up by NHS England in 2021, it has now been expanded to offer help for everyone in the support network of autistic people, including grandparents, partners, friends, and adult siblings. It’s paid for by NHS England and run by the mental health charity Anna Freud. With growing numbers being diagnosed with autism - and waiting for a diagnosis - what can this type of online help offer? Datshiane is joined by Victoria Jackson who has been using the service, and Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou, Director of Autism Central at Anna Freud.
Katriona O’Sullivan’s childhood was marked by extreme poverty, neglect, addiction and abuse. She became pregnant at 15 and experienced homelessness, but went on to become an award‑winning academic and bestselling author, with her memoir Poor adapted for the stage. Katriona's new book, Hungry, explores her lifelong struggles with her body and the unrelenting drive to feel, “enough”. Katriona talks to Datshiane about how trauma, class and gender shape how women see themselves.
Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Rebecca Myatt

A renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England has been published today. The first Women’s Health Strategy came out in July 2022 under the Conservative government, with this ‘refresh’ being put forward as a ‘chance to travel further and faster’. However with over half a million women still waiting for gynaecological care in England and many women saying they don't feel listened to, why has there been so little progress? Nuala McGovern discusses the renewed strategy with the Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Author Elizabeth Arnott talks to Nuala about her novel, The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives, which investigates the impact of violent crime, not only on its victims, but also on the people closest to the criminals. The story follows Beverley, Elsie and Margot, who all discovered they were married to serial killers too late to save the women they murdered. Set in 1960s California, in an era where the understanding of the “serial killer” phenomenon was in its infancy, these women find themselves in a unique position to dig into the psychology of their husbands and band together, using their knowledge of dangerous men, to track down other violent predators.
Scottish comedian Susie McCabe is a stalwart of the BBC comedy scene - from The News Quiz and Breaking the News, to Just a Minute and Have I Got News For You. It was in 2024, while touring, that she had a heart-attack – she was only in her mid-forties at the time. It made her not only take a long hard look at her life, but it also inspired her latest show, Best Behaviour. Susie joins Nuala to discuss making comedy gold out of life's trials and tribulations.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Andrea Kidd