Mary Ann Sieghart on fighting sexism in schools and closing 'the authority gap'
Journalist and author Mary Ann Sieghart joins Julie for Episode Seven of Ask A Woman to discuss her new book ‘The Authority Gap’.In the episode, Mary Ann explains her research into why women are still taken less seriously than men and how the pandemic could change things.They also discuss the issue of sexism in schools, making parenting an equal occupation and just some of the 140 things Mary Ann thinks you can do to be a better feminist.We hear the stories that inspired her book, advice from the women she admires the most and find out why a pirate Queen and Patti Smith would be her dream dinner guests.
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Psychotherapist Julia Samuel on change, loss, the Diana tribute and rebooting the stiff upper lip
Julia Samuel, the renowned psychotherapist and counsellor, joins Julie for Episode Six of Ask A Woman to share a lifetime's wisdom on embracing change and handling loss.In a really absorbing conversation, Julia shares how different people will experience the impending unlocking of society, why everyone has suffered a form of loss in the pandemic, and why we need to change our attitude to change itself to remain healthy.Following the recent unveiling of a statue for Julia's close friend, the late Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace, she addresses personal ways people can deal with grief and explains why the stiff upper lip still has a role to play in handling our emotions in 2021. Plus, Julia outlines the priorities needed to live meaningful and happy lives - and why they won't be found on Love Island!
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Justine Greening on social mobility and why the government can handle potholes but struggles with people
Former education secretary Justine Greening joins Julie Etchingham in Episode Five to explain why the government is better at handling potholes than people and needs to change.The daughter of a Rotherham steel worker and first openly gay government minister resigned from the cabinet in 2018, before ultimately quitting Parliament, after then-PM Theresa May surprisingly moved her out of the key role in pushing social mobility.Now pursuing the goal outside politics, Justine critiques the government's pandemic performance, explains what Boris Johnson got wrong when it came to Matt Hancock's exit and recounts the emotional moment she tweeted the truth about her sexual orientation.You can read more about Justine's Social Mobility Pledge and why she's pursuing 14 levelling up goals across businesses, NHS Trusts, Councils and universities at https://www.levellingupgoals.org/
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Elif Shafak on staying sane in a divisive pandemic and speaking truth to power
Are authors better equipped to handle lockdowns? Why is the pandemic dividing rather than uniting the world? And how do you handle being prosecuted for something a fictional character in your novel says?Award-winning Turkish-British novelist Elif Shafak joins Julie Etchingham on Ask A Woman to answer those questions and more.Elif has earned a global and devoted readership for titles that range from The Forty Rules Of Love, How To Stay Sane In An Age Of Division and The Bastard of Istanbul, the latter of which led to her being put on infamous trial - and emphatically acquitted - in 2006 for “insulting Turkishness” by addressing the Armenian genocide.Aside from writing, she is also a political scientist and passionate women’s rights and freedom of speech activist. In this episode of the podcast, Elif discusses:01:30 - Why a publisher’s claim about lockdown’s impact on writers was wrong3:35 - How the last 18 months have made her rethink her priorities in life 6:00 - The future of our society and why social media has left so many people voiceless07:40 - Why the pandemic has brought out the worst of us after bringing out the best of us 11:10 - The danger of current culture wars13:20 - How to unite with those we disagree with and why everyone is complex16:35 - Why older people have a responsibility to listen to younger people and why the answer “I don’t know” is so rarely heard in 202120:02 - How academics, students and the rest of society should react to the furore over controversial statues 25:28 - How she looks back on being prosecuted in Turkey for the views of her fictional characters 27:14 - Why trust has to be restored in democracy, for the protection of women30:25 - The truly imaginative guest who’ll join a legendary English writer and influential German-American political scientist at her dream dinner table32:22 - And finally, why her belief in feminism can transform and unite both men and women
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Kalpana Kochhar on working at the IMF and why the pandemic is a wake-up call for gender equality
ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham is back with another series of Ask A Woman - the podcast that seeks enlightening answers from bright, powerful, fascinating and funny women.Leading economist Kalpana Kochhar joins Julie this week to chat about why the pandemic is a wake-up call for gender equality.Kalpana is the current Director of the IMF’s Human Resources Department and has worked for the Fund for over 30 years.She will soon be joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where she hopes to share her expertise in female leadership and empowerment.In the episode, Kalpana discusses:01:40 - navigating the pandemic as an HR boss05:26 - how the pandemic has impacted working women08.30 - the policies she would impose to protect vulnerable women14:00 - why rich countries should be doing more16:09 - the importance of equal representation18:19 - working with female leaders at the IMF21:37 - growing up in India and studying in America25:08 - joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 27:25 - why Michelle Obama would join her grandmother as her dream dinner guest30:22 - closing the gap for women in developing countriesNew episodes of Ask A Woman are released every week - subscribe so you don't miss out.
After a break for the pandemic, Julie Etchingham’s podcast Ask A Woman is back. As we get ready to unlock, women are getting to grips with all we’ve been through these past 12 months. We want to find out what lessons leading women have learned, and what needs to happen to make sure we build back better for all of us. From politicians to comedians, sportswomen to business leaders, Julie will pick the brains of some of the world’s top women, to fire us all up and fill us with inspiration.
South Africa