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Behind the Wireless tells the story of women at the BBC in the 1920s and 30s. Broadcasting was brand new in Britain and the BBC developed without many of the overt discriminatory practices commonplace at the time. Women were employed at all levels, except the very top, for instance as secretaries, documentary makers, advertising representatives, and librarians. Three women held Director level posts, Hilda Matheson (Director of Talks), Mary Somerville (Director of School Broadcasting), and Isa Benzie (Foreign Director). Women also produced the programmes aimed at female listeners and brought women broadcasters to the microphone. There was an ethos of equality and the chance to rise through the ranks from accounts clerk to accompanist. But lurking behind the façade of modernity were hidden inequalities in recruitment, pay, and promotion and in 1932 a marriage bar was introduced. Kate Murphy examines how and why the interwar BBC created new opportunities for women.
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BEHIND THE WIRELESS A History of Early Women at the BBC KATE MURPHY
Behind the Wireless
Kate Murphy
Behind the Wireless A History of Early Women at the BBC
Kate Murphy Bournemouth University Poole, United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1-137-49171-8 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-137-49172-5 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-137-49173-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-49173-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936509 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London
For Dorothy Torry (née Singer), with love
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are a great many people to thank for their part in the creation of this book. Firstly, without the Women’s Development Initiative (a BBC mentoring scheme for which I was fortunate to be selected in 2000), I would not have had the bravado to request an attachment to the Diversity Unit to carry out the research for my 2002 report ‘Women in the BBC: A History’. Kathy Butcher and Liz Kennedy, my mentors on the scheme, were pivotal in this. The research led to my decision to embark on a parttime PhD at Goldsmiths in 2005. My supervisor, Sally Alexander, was a total inspiration and I was also greatly helped by Vivienne Richmond. Pat Thane and Jean Seaton also offered valuable advice. I formed reciprocal friendships with a number of women at this time, all of whom have gone on to gain doctorates or MPhils: Helen Glew, Helen McCarthy, Mari Takayan