‘When Are Women Like Me Going To Get Real Equality At Work?'

From #MeToo and #TimesUp to the equal-pay disputes rocking the establishment, the past year has shown our collective power as women but also just how far we still have to go. This International Women’s Day, Andrea Thompson talks to three brave whistle-blowers about why now is the time for action

- Andrea Thompson

VICK HOPE ‘The old boys’ club culture in radio needs to change’

Award-winning journalist and broadcaster Vick Hope, 28, co-hosts the breakfast show on Capital FM. She has also worked for MTV, 4Music and ITV

Here’s a little-known fact about my industry: radio studios are usually set up with two main microphones for the presenters, known in the business as ‘mic 1’ and ‘mic 2’. Mic 1 has the control buttons for both so, in effect, whoever sits at mic 1 has the power to silence the other. Now consider this: in the long history of male-female duos, the man almost exclusively sits at mic 1; the woman at mic 2. Incredible, right? So, without question, the man is in control, meaning that until he decides to switch her on, the woman across the desk from him essentially has no voice.

For me it’s what this mechanical fact represents that stings. I was told this six years ago when, fresh out of university and full of ambition, I attended a talk for budding broadcasters at the BBC led by Woman’s Hour anchor Jane Garvey. At 21, excitedly embarking upon my broadcasting journey, it hit me hard. Why, I thought, are producers and programmers not questioning an ingrained power structure that subconsciously silences women. Regardless of their talent or drive, the message is clear: ‘Know your place… because that’s just how it is.’

Six years into the industry, challenging this antiquated assertion has become a daily battle for me. Yes, I work with fantastic TV and radio teams, my job is a dream, I love my colleagues and, to be clear, I’m not pointing fingers here at any companies in particular. But there remains an inherent systemic problem that’s lamentably become the norm.