Weekend Woman's Hour: Katherine Ryan, EHRC Chair, Shingles vaccine and dementia

Available for over a year

Comedian Katherine Ryan’s new memoir explores the impact being a Firstborn Daughter has had on her approach to life. From becoming the family’s ‘Head of Emotional Operations’ at a young age, to her thoughts on marriage, motherhood, fertility and facelifts, Katherine joins Anita to discuss her take on what it means to be woman in modern society. New research has found that female scientists are 'largely absent' from exam boards’ compulsory learning material for GCSE pupils. The study by the University of Cambridge found only one of 86 scientists featured in the main Key Stage 4 exam specifications for science, was a woman – Rosalind Franklin - she did ground-breaking work on DNA. Skyla White is one of the researchers on the study. There has been a rise in demand for the shingles vaccine, and this may be because recent studies suggest it could reduce the risk of dementia. Women are at greater risk of developing dementia in their lifetime, and around twice as many women as men have Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia. Nuala hears from two women, Eva and Sally, who are getting the shingles vaccine this winter, in part because of a family history of dementia, and from Lucy Devendra, Head of Research at Alzheimer's Society. Author Helen Fielding is launching a competition to find new comedy writers from the North of England. The Bridget Jones Prize will be managed by Newcastle-based writing charity New Writing North. From Yorkshire herself, Helen is looking for first-person stand-alone prose, not unlike the diary entries of her fictional heroine, first published anonymously in The Independent newspaper in 1995. Helen explains why she wants more to be made of the northern humour she grew up with. It was World Menopause Day yesterday, the last before employers of more than 250 people in England, Scotland and Wales are mandated to have a Menopause Action Plan in place. This new legal duty begins in April 2027. What does it actually mean and how will it be enforced? Nuala McGovern is joined by the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Simon Richardson