Woman's Hour

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

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Woman's Hour: Modern domestic service; Mud and Mascara in women's rugby; Teenage subcultures

Modern domestic service; Mud and Mascara in women's rugby; Teenage subcultures

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Modern domestic service; Mud and Mascara in women's rugby; Teenage subcultures

Modern domestic service; Mud and Mascara in women's rugby; Teenagers across the decades

Vast numbers of cleaners, nannies and gardeners work hard in homes across the UK. Jenni hears how the relationship between domestic staff and their employers works in 2020.

Right now, there are thousands of people working hard in other people’s homes to keep them running smoothly. But what’s it like working in domestic service in modern Britain? Juliet Adame and Dawn Nickless talk about their experiences of the relationship between employer and employed, and the extent to which class still plays a role in people’s attitudes towards domestic workers. Jenni also speaks to Dr Lucy Delap from the University of Cambridge about how much the life of a cleaner, nanny and gardener has changed – or not – in the past 100 years, and why so many women feel mortally embarrassed about being the boss. 

Women’s rugby is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world and 29% of all rugby players are women. Since it was announced as an Olympic sport in 2009, the number of participants has grown globally from 200,000 to over 2.6 million.  As preparations are underway for this year’s Women’s Six Nations Catherine Spencer the former Captain of the England talks to Jenni about her memoir Mud, Maul, Mascara: How I Led my Country, and Lived to Tell the Tale.

Goth, punk, raver – what kind of teenager were you? The Museum of Youth Culture is currently touring their exhibition “Grown Up in Britain”, which showcases artefacts from teenagers throughout the decades. We discuss how teenage subcultures have evolved from the 50s to today with Ruth Adams, senior lecturer at Kings College London and Lisa Der Weduwe, Archives Manager at the Museum of Youth Culture, before kicking off our four-part feature series “A Short History of the Teenage Girl” with Kay from Derby.

Presenter - Jenni Murray
Producer - Anna Lacey
Guest - Lucy Delap
Guest - Julieta Adame
Guest - Dawn Nickless
Guest - Catherine Spencer
Guest - Ruth Adams
Guest - Lisa der Weduwe

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Woman's Hour

Modern domestic service; Mud and Mascara in women's rugby; Teenage subcultures

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