A CALL TO ACTION: Radio 4's Today has only 16% women guests. Time to write in.

[Bidisha]

This is a call to action, after Kira Cochrane's Guardian article aboucultural femicide pointed out that the Today programme has only 16% women guests, despite a 50% female listenership. On 5th July there was 1 woman and 27 men. The programme's editor said that the issue of female representation "almost never comes up as an issue from the audience... I suppose it might be two letters a year, or something of that nature."

Last month I received a letter from a dismayed radio listener, who has noticed the ignoring of women at all levels of the media and public life. She specifically mentions Radio 4's Today programme as one of the main perpetrators of cultural femicide. She mentions her many complaints to this and other shows and the way they have largely been ignored. At major speaking events at The Women's Library in London last year and at The Arnolfini in Bristol this year - at a sold out event called Where Are The Women? - countless women approached me and said that they had complained to major media shows including Today and were dismissed, patronisingly rebuffed or ignored.

This, then, is a call to action. On this morning's show on Tuesday 6th December, aside from the presenters (4 'cheps' and a lady), Today had 20 male voices and just 5 actual female lady-women. Yesterday it had 14 men and 7 women. On Friday 2nd December it had 18 men and 6 women. On Thursday 1st December it had 18 men and 3 women. On Wednesday 30th November it had 17 men and 6 women. On Tuesday 29th November it was 18 men and 6 women. Notice, ladies, we never get above 7, and the men never get below 14 - usually much higher actually - and that's not even counting the presenters.

Back on Friday 20th March 2011, Radio 4?s Today programme featured 28 men, including the 2 male presenters, and 1 woman. The previous day they had gone completely mad ...and gave us Ladies? Day: 7 whole women spoke, including presenter Sue Macgregor, alongside 21 men. The day before that it was a much more acceptable 4 women and 19 men. I have no idea what that spike on Thursday 19th was about. 7 women! Using up the space that men could have occupied! By Friday, thank Patriarchus, He That Knoweth, natural order had been restored.

I have been contacted by Sound Women, a coalition of amazing professional women in radio. They are exhorting women to write to BBC Trust Chairman Chris Patte, and have drafted a form letter, below. Send it to Chris Patten at [email protected] and cc in his assistant [email protected]

We can also keep a log of names and dates sent on this thread, if need be.

Please feel free to adapt and change the letter below, especially if you are a Today/Radio 4 listener, but do not work in the media, and have additional points you?d like to make:

Dear Lord Patten

The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 has four male presenters and just one woman, Sarah Montague. In addition to this, today it?s been revealed that on average 84% of its guests and reporters are male, and just 16% female.

As [a woman working in the radio industry, and] an avid radio listener, I am deeply disappointed by these figures. If the Today audience is made up of 50-50 men and women, as Today Editor Ceri Thomas claims, then this means that the women in that audience are being under-represented and badly served.

Ceri Thomas also says he receives only two letters of complaint a year, and seems to think this means the audience don?t care about the issue. Well we do care. We don?t always write letters of complaint ? sometimes we change to another station or shout at our radio instead ? but if it will make a difference then please accept this as a letter of complaint, to which I would greatly appreciate a response.

I know the representation of women on air is an issue you feel strongly about, and have spoken about before. I hope you can encourage the BBC to bring about the change that is needed, and look forward to hearing a more balanced version of the Today programme, with many more female contributors, reporters and presenters very soon.

Thank you for reading this email.

___

...And thank you for reading that long post, which is a version of an even longer feature giving very damning statistics, here: www.bidisha-online.blogspot.com/2011/12/do-you-like-women-today-today.html


Etc.
Fingers crossed. Or radios off.

[AlwaysWild]

I think I got my reply today. It's a long reply, lasts about 3 hours and you have to read between the lines.

Today's Today schedule I think means 'we don't give a shit' and if I wasn't certain the 'fuck you, what have women got to do with abortion anyway' at 7.50* confirmed it.

*"0750
"According to a major survey carried out under the auspices of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, concern that abortions may lead to serious mental health problems has been put into question. Prof Tim Kendall, who wrote the report based on the survey, and Dr Peter Saunders, chief executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, discuss the findings."

[ElderberrySyrup]

I was just going to come on and post about the abortion one - that was classic.

Three men pontificating about abortion. Women's bodies, women's lives - and men are the supposed experts.

[HalfMumHalfBiscuit]

Me too on the abortion discussion. Simply apalling that no women were included.

Angry at the programme and not enjoying it anymore.

[ElderberrySyrup]

done me letter to Chris Patten now.

Posted Bidisha's blog on my local feminist network too, to help get the word out.

[ElderberrySyrup]

Written from the heart:

'Dear Lord Patten

I am writing to complain about the under-representation of women on the BBC, and in particular, the BBC's otherwise excellent flagship morning program, Today.

I have been spurred into writing to you by the appalling fact that a discussion about some new research into abortion and its impact on women's mental health (which, as I hardly need to tell you, is something that impacts most on women) involved a male presenter talking to two men with not a single woman asked for her opinion. This was disgraceful.

In the light of the recent research by Kira Cochrane, of which I am sure you are now aware, showing that the Today program has a shockingly low 16% female reporters and guests, this sadly comes as no surprise. Today is not a special interest men's program, about motor racing or men's health or men's football or something that statistically you might expect men to be more interested in than women. It is a program about a wide range of current affairs which affect women's life as much as men's.

Women are as well-informed as men, they are as intelligent, they are as articulate. If you have trouble booking women guests from the obvious sources of senior members of organisations and those in public life, you need to look harder. Look for guests with personal experience, look lower down the ranks of organisations and find those women who are working below the level of their ability and expertise because higher level posts were closed to them after a career break. Look among the many articulate and popular woman bloggers. If you are short of woman reporters then you must recruit and train them.

I switch off the Today program (my husband switches it on!) because it is really just the Blokes Today program. I do this with more and more BBC programs these days. I don't believe men are the only holders of wisdom, so I look elsewhere for the voices of the rest of humanity.

Incidentally, this reaction is carrying through to my children, your future viewers and listeners. My daughter -- --, then aged 5, noticed last year that the majority of programs on CBeebies featured male main characters. On the day on which she counted (it was a Saturday morning), she watched 10 shows in a row before she came across one that did not have a boy as the main character. She wrote to CBeebies to ask why this was and never received a reply. On discovering how many more dominant and interesting girl characters there were on Milkshake, she decided to switch over - since then we have been a Milkshake household rather than a CBeebies one!

In the light of that, I admit I am sceptical about Ceri Thomas' claim that he only receives two letters a year complaining about the underrepresentation of women on Today. I wonder if letters were written but lost or filed by people lower down the organisation who did not consider them important enough to bring to his attention (which I assume is what happened to ----'s CBeebies letter). In any case, it might be a good idea to encourage staff in all areas of the BBC to take complaints about this issue seriously.

What I would really like to see would be a thoroughgoing inquiry into sexism at the BBC. As a publicly funded organisation I believe you have a responsibility to all your viewers and listeners, not just those who dominate public life.

Many thanks for taking this issue seriously. I appreciate your continued commitment to this issue, but I believe we urgently need to see change.

Yours sincerely,

Elderberry Syrup (Dr)

[alexpolismum]

Very nice, considered letter, Elderberry. I wonder if you will get such a considered response.

I have written an email as an overseas listener (no reply/ acknowledgement as yet), and I have got my mum in the UK to write in too. She says she is complaining about underrepresentation of women on the BBC as a whole, not just on Today.

[AlwaysWild]

They didn't reply to your daughter?!

[ElderberrySyrup]

no, and she wrote it all by herself and insisted on spelling everything right. Bastards.
Next time a child of mine writes a letter to a public body I will send it by bloody recorded delivery.

[vesuvia]

Don't get me started on the Today programme!

The lack of women on that programme is scandalous. The exclusively male discussion about abortion, unwanted pregnancy and women's mental health was just the latest in a very long line of exclusions of women on Today.

I think professionalism has taken a nose-dive on the Today programme. I've noticed over the last year or so, that the presenters are increasingly spending their air time joking, larking about, guffawing, etc. There's a time and a place for larking about and banter but I don't think the BBC's flagship news programme should be it. I'd prefer them to stop the mucking about and spend their time and earn their money considering some issues from a female perspective and/or women contributors instead.

[falasportugues]

I am heartened by the action taking place re: today programme.... really gets my goat when they posture at seriusly questioning the politicians, i turn over to radio 7, which at that time is 'classic comedy' with some really dire stereotypes on. then what about women's hour? patronising and superficial. gaaaaahhhh

[slug]

I tweet most days on the proportion of male to female stories in the sports pages. I just do a quick count on my way into work. wouldn't believe how much it winds up some people.

[ElderberrySyrup]

you mean how much people get wound up by the mere fact that you count?

I used to have a subscription to the LRB around 12 years ago. Once they printed a letter complaining about how few articles by women there were (one or two an issue, usually).... and the following issue, there were some amazingly angry letters saying how stupid that letter had been. There was the usual 'you are clearly not busy enough if you have time to waste counting articles by men and women' - I mean, fgs, how long does it to count 15 or so author names on the contents page, would take me well under a minute....

[Hardgoing]

I posted this comment on the invisibility thread- but the sheer quantity of women was so striking on Newsnight last night, I wonder if all these emails are having a behind-the-scenes effect? Emily Maitles was the presenter and in each segment, on the EU 'non' by Cameron, on the CERN collider and on the graphs of the economic mess, pretty much every guest was female (e.g. the Science Correspondent, the three economists). And the content, particularly by the economists was excellent, proving that once some of these incredibly knowledgable women do get visibility, they do very well.

So- is it a deliberate policy on Newsnight, co-incidence? Fear of the MN feminist board? Or are they just more enlightened at Newsnight than Today (perfectly plausible)?

[AlwaysWild]

Well I noticed this AM on Today they had a discussion about DV and three whole women were allowed to speak without a male accompaniment at all. Of course who knows what was going on behind the scenes, and they may even just be using some voice 'feminising' technology.

[Prolesworth]

Has anyone had a reply from Chris Patten yet? I haven't.

[Tenebrist]

Email sent, but I was feeling lazy and just c+p the one bidisha gave in the OP. If Ceri Thomas is saying he only gets two complaints a year, wouldn't it be a good idea to write to him as well as Chris Patten?

[msrisotto]

No I haven't had a response either.

[AlwaysWild]

Well they've excelled themselves so far today.

Item about Korea, introduced speaker from
Seoul's women's university. Ears pricked up. But no, they'd managed to find a man from the women's university to speak.

Then item about married tax allowance and whether we were going back to the 50s. Man came on and talked about changing role of women vis a vis their income and tax.

[ElfenorRathbone]

Right, will e-mail in about that AW

I think we all should, every time they do it.

[Meglet]

BBC2 showed 2 University Challenges last night. Out of 16 panellists, 2 were women. If my maths is right that's 12% .

[SkaterGrrrrl]

Dear Lord Patten

I am the mother of a baby daughter and a passionate fan of Radio 4. I listen to Radio 4 mainly for the female presenters who are, to my mind, your greatest assets.

The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 has four male presenters and just one woman, Sarah Montague. This is so disappointing. I want my daughter to grow up thinking that she matters as much as men do. Seeing and hearing women represented equally in the media is a huge part of this. If Radio 4 with all its awareness and intelligence can?t get it right, what hope for the other stations?

I know the representation of women on air is an issue you feel strongly about, and have spoken about before. I hope you can encourage the BBC to bring about the change that is needed, and look forward to hearing a more balanced version of the Today programme, with many more female contributors, reporters and presenters very soon.

Thank you for reading this email.

Regards
SkaterGrrrrl

[AlwaysWild]

Guest editors over the festive period, 4 men 2 women. Now there was a chance to at least go 50/50. I can't see any excuses for that one.

[SkaterGrrrrl]

I have just received a reply.

"Dear Ms SkaterGrrrrl

Thank you for your email to Lord Patten, Chairman of the BBC Trust. I am responding on his behalf as a member of the BBC Trust Unit which advises and supports the Chairman and Trustees.

I note your concerns about representation of women on BBC Services and on the Today programme.

I can assure you that equality is an issue that the BBC Executive and the Trust takes very seriously and, as you may be aware, it?s the Chairman?s view that there should be more women both on radio and television.

However, the role of the Chairman, and of the Trust, is distinct from that of the BBC Executive. Day-to-day editorial and operational decisions, such as the selection of presenters and contributors to the Today Programme for example, are rightly the responsibility of the BBC Executive and ultimately the Director General as Editor-in-Chief.

I have therefore forwarded your email to BBC Audience Services so that they can respond to your comments on behalf of the BBC?s management.

I hope this will be helpful, and I thank you for bringing your views to our attention.

Yours sincerely
John Hamer
BBC Trust Unit"

[SkaterGrrrrl]

And also this one:

Dear SkaterGrrrrl

Thank you for contacting us.

Your e-mail has been passed to us by the BBC Trust as it relates to matters which, in the first instance, are the responsibility of the BBC's management. Under the BBC's Royal Charter, the Trust has the distinct role of setting high-level strategic and editorial frameworks, but responsibility for day to day decisions within them rests with BBC management, so your correspondence has therefore been forwarded to us to respond to on their behalf.

We also apologise for the delay in replying to your e-mail. We realise that our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we?re sorry that you had to wait on this occasion.

I?m happy to read that you enjoy the standards set by female presenters but I understand you?re concerned because you believe there were more male presenters on the occasion you contacted us than female presenters.

The BBC is committed to equal opportunities for all, irrespective of ethnic or national origins, gender, marital status, sexuality, disability or age. In selecting presenters, actors, and other contributors for our programmes (and staff to work at the BBC) we aim to employ those with the most suitable talents for the role.

However we appreciate that you may continue to feel that there weren?t enough female contributors and I'd also like to assure you that I've registered your complaint on our Audience Log. This is a daily report of audience feedback that?s made available to all BBC staff, including members of the BBC Executive board, channel controllers and other senior managers.

The Audience Logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions on future BBC programmes and content.

Once again, thank you for contacting us.

Kind Regards

Philip Young
BBC Complaints

[scottishmummy]

Disagree,want quality intellectual guests not ratio just to keep balance
Have no desire to see tokenistic women guests just because it superficially appears to address perceived imbalance