Two strong women were fêted this week. Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician to whose calculations John Glenn entrusted his life, passed away at 99. And Elizabeth Warren, the last woman standing in this year’s US presidential race, stepped out. We wait at least another four years for the US to break the gender barrier for the White House.
One constant through the last 78 years of steps forward and back has been Desert Island Discs. More than 3,000 note-worthies have shared their stories and choices on the program. You can hear most of them here (and one of them by visiting a bench in Richmond Park).
It has felt like there has been a real shift in recent years to showcase remarkable women. The efforts of the show’s archivists provide the data to test the theory. And so, here is how the gender split has evolved over time.
It took until 2013 for there to be an even split of women and men on the show, and Lauren Laverne, Kirsty Young and the Desert Island Discs team have maintained the balance.
The data don’t say if the shift reflects the show leading or following change, but the number of remarkable women sharing their stories is inspiring.
To pick a song to celebrate we go to the list of 100 tunes that audience members voted for in 2011. But how to choose? Sadly, a coin toss can do it – only two tracks on the list were composed by women (and at numbers 92 and 99). Let’s go for the pioneer – the first self-written UK number one single by a woman, itself inspired by a great woman’s great work.