Waspi women, Dr Jen Gunter, The Liverbirds, Child poverty
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.1 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 21 March 2024
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A long-awaited report on how women born in the 1950s were affected by increases to their retirement age - the so-called WASPI women, which stands for women against state pension inequality - has been published today. It recommends compensation and says the Department for Work and Pensions failed to adequately inform the women affected. Emma Barnett hears from Steve Webb, former pensions minister from 2010 to 2015, when changes to pension ages were accelerated, and to Frances Neil, a WASPI coordinator in Essex.
Dr Jen Gunter is a gynaecologist and author based in California, with a huge global following, known for calling out products marketed to women which claim to address their neglected health issues but have no evidence base and could be harmful. In her latest book, simply called Blood, she tackles the menstrual cycle and myths ancient and modern associated with it. Jen joins Emma in studio.
John Lennon told them that ‘girls don’t play guitar’, but these four girls from 1960s Liverpool were determined to prove him wrong. Mary, Sylvia, Valerie and Pamela formed Britain's first female rock'n'roll band The Liverbirds, and went on to tour stadiums across Europe, record two hit albums and play with the Kinks, Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry – all in the space of five years. Emma talks to the two surviving members of the band about their incredible story.
Figures out today show that 4.3 million children in the UK are living in poverty. Emma speaks to Sara Ogilvie, Policy Director at Child Poverty Action Group and to Jo, a lone parent living in Greater Manchester with a 14-year-old son and on a low income.
Transcript
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| 0:45.0 | Hello, I'm Emma Barnet and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:50.0 | Just to say that for rights reasons the music in the original radio broadcast has been removed for this podcast |
| 0:57.0 | Good morning welcome to the program. Could today be the day that thousands of women born in the 1950s get some justice? |
| 1:06.1 | Many of these women have missed out on their pensions due to what they say were poorly |
| 1:10.5 | communicated changes to the state pension age by the government. |
| 1:14.4 | We'll get into the detail of this shortly and hear from a former pensions minister who worked |
| 1:18.2 | under David Cameron as part of the coalition, for whom there are many questions. |
| 1:23.0 | But I wanted to open Women's Hour today to any woman affected or their family. |
| 1:28.0 | I'm aware some women have passed on are no longer here to tell their stories as to what the parliamentary ombudsman could rent on and 10,000 pounds would do it, but how does that sit with you? |
| 1:44.4 | What would justice look like if you have been affected by the government's |
| 1:48.4 | changes to the female pension age? |
| 1:51.6 | And I also wanted to ask and open up as I always do across the whole of |
... |
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