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Woman's Hour

Pregnancy discrimination, Prue Leith, Femcels, Social workers on screen

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2024

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

An employment tribunal has ruled that describing an expectant mother as 'emotional' at work was discrimination. Described as a David and Goliath case, Nicola Hinds, who had been an account manager at Mitie, a FTSE 250 company, represented herself. The judge upheld her claims of pregnancy discrimination and constructive dismissal saying she was 'inexcusably' ignored by her boss and portrayed as 'hormonal'. She is now in line to receive compensation. Nicola joins Emma Barnett.

82% of social workers are women, and they are fed up of seeing themselves portrayed as baddies on screen. Social Work England says they end up depicted in dramas as dragging children away from their families. Reporter Melanie Abbott talks to social worker in training Ceira Walsh about the impact on her. And Sarah Blackmore from Social Work England and screenwriter Emma Reeves, responsible for Elaine the Pain in the Tracy Beaker series, discuss with Emma Barnett what changes could be made.

Emma speaks to Dame Prue Leith, the chef, author and TV personality, who took part in her first ever catwalk this week at the age of 84. She wore clothes designed by the brand Vin and Omi, who've collaborated with the King to use plants grown in his garden to make their sustainable clothes.

What are femcels? The female version of incels, or involuntary celibates. are the subject of a new Channel 4 documentary, Emma speaks to Dr Jilly Kay from Loughborough University to hear more about research into this group and what their online activity looks like.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

0:04.6

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:08.4

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable

0:14.3

experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC

0:20.4

makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

0:24.6

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

0:29.7

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.

0:36.0

BBC Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts.

0:41.0

Hello I'm Emma Barnet and welcome to Womensa from BBC. podcasts. woman. One of my guests proudly describes herself as just that, Dame Prew Leith.

0:55.6

I'll be talking to her or you'll be hearing from her a bit later in the program.

0:58.4

The restaurateur, cookery writer and broadcaster is on mainly to talk about taking to the catwalk for the first time as a model aged 84

1:07.6

but we also touch on her campaigns and interventions and I ask you that question because

1:12.4

I'm interested in hearing from you today about

1:14.6

when you've decided to step up and take a stand or say something to someone if something isn't

1:20.6

right. Also, when you've chosen not to, maybe it was safer, maybe it was the

1:25.6

right thing for you at that point, maybe it was not good for your health, maybe there were all

1:29.0

sorts of reasons why you felt compromised and perhaps you've come to regret that or you've realized it was all you

1:34.6

could do at that time.

1:36.8

Today and my first guest I should say I'll be talking to a woman who took on her employer,

1:41.0

a footsy 250 company after her manager started treating her

1:44.4

differently when she shared that she was pregnant. Nicola Hines represented herself

1:49.3

in her employment tribunal and one. The judge said that her male boss had

...

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