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Woman's Hour: The Future of Women in Space

11/12/2019

The Future of Women in Space

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, The Future of Women in Space

Women in space; High profile women & the general election; Amsterdam's red light district

What is the future for women in space? Where are the high profile women in the general election? Amsterdam, sex work and the new mayor.

What is the future of spaceflight? In October, the first all-female spacewalk was conducted by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, as they made repairs to the exterior of the International Space Station. As space missions become easier to conduct, the novelty of an all-female astronaut team will wear off. But there are still some barriers to women astronauts. To discuss the importance of diversity in space, Jane speaks to the first British astronaut, Helen Sharman, who visited Mir, the Russian space station, in 1991. Alongside Helen is Dr Varsha Jain, a gynaecological researcher interested in the physiological impact of spaceflight and zero gravity on human physiology, and Liz Seward a senior space strategist at Airbus discussing when humanity will colonise the moon and when the first woman will set foot on Mars. 

Femke Halsema  is Amsterdam’s first female mayor and she says she wants to make sex work in the red light district safer. The plan is to crack down on human trafficking and the humiliation women working in windows face from tourists. Four main options are being considered including closing the windows in which women work and moving the red light district altogether. A consultation has been carried out and Ena Miller went to Amsterdam to canvass the opinions of sex workers, campaigners, a brothel owner, residents and tourists about the Mayor’s plans. 

A record numbers of women are standing for Parliament in the upcoming General Election - making up about a third of candidates. But where are the high profile women? Have we seen enough prominent female voices on screen and in the debates? And what impact is this having? We hear from Anne McElvoy, Senior Editor at The Economist and Alice Thomson, Associate Editor and columnist at The Times.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Interviewed Guest: Dr Varsha Jain
Interviewed Guest: Helen Sharman
Interviewed Guest: Liz Seward
Reporter: Ena Miller
Interviewed Guest: Alice Thomson
Interviewed Guest: Anne McElvoy

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