‘New and important careers’: how women excelled at the BBC, 1923–1939

Abstract

In the conclusion to her chapter on women in the BBC in Women in Top Jobs, the sociologist Isobel Allen queried 'whether women had done as well in the BBC as might be expected' (Fogarty et al., 1971: 214). She pointed out that most of the very senior women were about to retire with no obvious female successors. 'There is certainly no reason to imagine', she continued, 'that anything like the situation in the early 1930s, when almost half the departmental heads in the BBC were women, could be repeated in the near future ' (1971: 214). Although Allen overstated the situation, many women had risen to important positions in the interwar BBC. This article will contend that a number of distinctive circumstances facilitated a progressive approach in this period: a combination of the BBC's newness, its pioneering spirit, and its modernity, which intersected with expanding educational and employment opportunities for middle-class women in the aftermath of the First World War.The BBC's independence from state control and its commitment to public service rather than commercialism is also important. The seeds of change which would gradually dilute the role of women are also discernible in this period. Bureaucratisation, professionalisation and a move towards conformity would increasingly masculinise the BBC, creating the discriminatory circumstances fully evident by the 1970s.The BBC of the 1920s and 1930s was uncommon in its treatment of women (see Murphy, 2016). Three women attained

Confessions of a Monopoly: The Covert Decision Making of the Early BBC

“…However, the BBC's position over advertising remained anomalous. In 1926, it set up a department for the purpose of selling advertising space, and by 1929 it had three major magazine publications with pages full of advertisements (Murphy 2011). Yet, it claimed that it did not allow advertising from the microphone-except when promoting itself and its own publications, as discussed in the internal memoranda (Brown 1923).…”

“…Commentary on the BBC's contribution to broadcasting, and its influence on its audience (Gillespie et al 2008;Schwyter 2016;Taylor 1997), keeps pace with societal change (Hajkowski 2013). Occasionally, there is focus upon its employees and how it treats and rewards them (Murphy 2016b;Thomas 2020). These topics continue to evolve, and new insights are constantly being added to our understanding of the BBC's history and its impact on British society (Avery 2006;Scannell 1992;Seaton 2015).…”

‘Common Sense Slimming’ - How the contribution of Joan Robins, television’s ‘afternoon cook’, was not the perfect-fit for the culture of the BBC in the 1950s

“…Robins is described as ‘forthright, optimistic and gives lie to the rumour that women have no sense of humour’ (BBC WAC TV Art 1, 1947a). Mary Adams, a prominent producer at the BBC (Murphy, 2016) responsible for Robins’ programmes, added her own notes for the BBC publicity team asking them to make no mention of Robins work with the Gas Light and Coke Company, but instead to ‘build up her connection with the Ministry of Food and her practical experience at home’ (BBC WAC TV Art 1, 1947a)…”

Editorial

“…Undoubtedly, the hardest to reach of women's television histories at the BBC are those from television's earliest years, given the lack of surviving television programmes and the lack of access to first-person histories of those working in 1930s-1940s television. The BBC WAC provides a valuable source of information on women's employment and work at the BBC during these decades and this had allowed for a number of institutional and individual histories to be told (Arnold, 2021;Murphy, 2016Murphy, , 2016bTerkanian, 2019). Kate Murphy's ground-breaking study of women's work at the BBC during the 1920s and 1930s, while not exclusively focused on television, provides one of the most comprehensive studies of women's work across a range of roles and departments at a time when the BBC had an ethos of gender inclusivity, albeit one that was selective and restricted to salaried women (2016a).…”