Question Time to feature an all women audience on March 11th
Question Time to feature an all women audience on March 11th
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By Darren Plant. |  |
Thursday, 25, Feb 2010 10:31
By Richard James.
The BBC's flagship political discussion show Question Time will feature a women-only audience on March 11th to coincide with International Women's Week.
The topical debate programme, chaired by veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby will take place in Dewsbury.
A spokesman for the BBC told inthenews.co.uk the show would be the first time Question Time has featured an all-women audience but every other aspect of the programme would remain the same.
The panel has yet to be confirmed although the BBC said the TV presenter Monty Don would be one of those taking part.
"[As usual] the studio audience will guide what topics are talked about. usually driven by stories prominent that week," the spokesman said.
The show has been welcomed by the equality campaign group, the Fawcett Society.
The group's chief executive, Ceri Goddard, said: "The Fawcett Society commends the BBC's important decision to hold a Question Time with an audience made up entirely of women, during International Women's Week.
"The Fawcett Society believes, and has said to the BBC, that as a public service broadcaster they play a vital role in ensuring women are properly heard in political debates and can hold politicians to account."
She added that while there was no such thing as a 'bloc vote' of women, at present the main political parties' consideration of women in their policy development fell "well short of our expectations".
"On all the big issues from the economy, to crime, to support for families, politicians often fail to consider or fail to explain what the impact of these decisions will be on women - and often they are starkly different from their impact on men," she said.
"We look forward to women being able to grill politicians on all the big issues, and look forward to politicians being made to account for how their policies affect women."