Past events

Expert Women

Filmed at the Expert Women Extra Day, City University of London, July 2019, these are comments from the participants. This was the second Expert Women Extra Day, where women who had been on the BBC Academy’s Expert Women training regrouped to visit ITN and meet other producers as well as hone their practical skills.

Women On Air
Editors of the six programmes surveyed at the 2018 “Women on Air” Conference

Women on Air 2018

The third Women on Air Conference was held on June 14th 2018 where a panel of editors of the 6 “flagship” programmes discussed their effort to increase the number of women experts ion their programmes. The ratio of men experts to women experts had dropped to 2.3 -1, on par with female expertise in society. Keynote speakers were Margot James, then Secretary of State at the DCMS, Nicky Morgan, former Minister for Women, and Emily Thornberry, Shadow Home Secretary.

The late Dame Tessa Jowell with Channel 4 presenter Cathy Newman

Women on Air 2016

The 2016 edition of the conference brought together the industry’s top broadcasters, as well as leading political figures, including Dame Tessa Jowell and Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy Ed Vaizey.

The panel at the Women on Air 2014

Women on Air 2014

The first conference highlighted the results of the research led by Lis Howell. Opening the conference, Dame Tessa Jowell MP said: “Given the media is the prism through which so much of life is interpreted, the gender imbalance in respect of owners, editors, presenters, guests and portrayal of women is a major challenge to accuracy and impartiality – and in the long-term, the effectiveness of our democracy and civic society.”

The 2018 Expert Women Extra Day

Expert Women Extra

The first Expert Women Extra day took place in July 2018. Twenty-eight women who had already attended the BBC Expert Women training days came together for a top up – visiting ITN, honing their practical skills and meeting other producers. This was so successful that a second Expert Women Extras day was organised in 2019 and one is planned for 2020.

Ade Rawcliffe
Ade Rawcliffe
Nicky Morgan and Suzanne Franks
Nicky Morgan (L) and Suzanne Franks (R)
Suzanne Franks and Fran Unsworth
Suzanne Franks (L) and Fran Unsworth (R)