Woman’s hour

• Women's Hour


  A daily magazine program on BBC Radio 4 with presenters who chat about a range of different topics
• First episode of Women's Hour aired on BBC Light Program with a male presenter


  1946
• Women's Hour in the 1940s and 1950s


  • Content centered around things like cooking and cleaning, reflecting expectations of women at the time
• Women's Hour today


  • Content has diversified, covering a wide range of issues that affect women
• Women's Hour is broadcast daily at 10am, with an omnibus on Saturday afternoons at 4pm
• BBC


  A public service broadcaster funded by license fees, not adverts
• BBC's remit


  • To inform, educate and entertain
• Women's Hour


  • Informative and educational, tackling a wide range of issues that affect women
• Low-cost to produce


  Recorded in a studio, mostly dialogue, can be distributed digitally
• Women's Hour presenters


  • Emma Barnett (light-hearted) and Anita Rani (from an ethnic minority background)
• The choice of presenters reflects the BBC's desire to embrace diversity
• Women's Hour content


  • Reflects the BBC's remit to embrace diversity, including people from different ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and disabilities
• Women's Hour audience


  Primarily women over the age of 55, who find the content relatable and familiar
• Women's Hour has an online presence, allowing audience interaction through social media
• Not all audiences respond positively to Women's Hour, with some men feeling alienated and some women feeling the show is too traditional
• Ofcom


  The regulatory board that governs radio in the UK, responsible for ensuring programs do not breach the communications code
• The BBC split Women's Hour into a late-night version to allow for more adult content
• Radio listenership is declining, and the BBC is aware of the need to target a younger audience for Women's Hour
• In 2021, Ofcom received 564 complaints about the host Emma Barnett's perceived hostility towards a Muslim guest, leading the BBC to remove the clip from their online catalogue