A Woman's Place is in the Press: Susanna Rustin #WPUKPress (London, 9 November 2023)

With regret, the opening of Susanna Rustin's talk was not captured - here is what she said "I’m really grateful to Woman’s Place UK for putting this event on and asking me to be part of it. I think I first spoke to Judith about WPUK doing a press event two years ago, I’m sure I’m not the only person who did so but by that time I was familiar with the WPUK format - a woman’s place is in the law, a woman’s place is on the podium, and so on - and I thought when are they going to do a woman’s place is in the papers? So it’s really great to be here doing that. I’ve been asked to pick up the story where Helen [Lewis] leaves off, and I wanted to start by saying - or admitting - that while it was going on, I was more or less completely oblivious to everything she and Julie [Bindel] have just described. Which seems quite strange now, I certainly didn’t think of myself as uninterested in sexual politics or women’s rights at that time. I was looking back at what I was writing in those years, I was a general feature writer, and I wrote about caesarians, on lack of women in local govt..." A Woman’s Place UK (WPUK) was pleased to host A Woman's Place is in the Press, where we were joined by a panel of expert journalists who clearly advocate for the sex-based rights of women. Each embody the spirit of resistance, representing the interests of women at a time when many seek to silence feminist voices. Hear about the obstacles they have overcome, the obstacles still in our path and how can we make sure women's interests are represented in the press. Their accounts of standing firm and making women’s concerns heard had particular resonance as we enter a general election year. WPUK has been hosting sold-out public meetings at venues around the country since 2017. In that time, we have seen policymakers begin to realise the importance of preserving sex-based rights. This evening will be an occasion for reflecting on, and celebrating, the role that female journalists have played in leading the fightback against a sustained attack on women’s rights. Susanna Rustin is a leader writer at the Guardian, where she writes mostly on social affairs and the environment. She has also worked as an editor on the opinion and books desks. Her book about the history of British feminism will be published next year. https://www.theguardian.com/commentis... https://www.economist.com/open-future... https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/w... https://www.theguardian.com/world/201... https://www.theguardian.com/commentis... https://www.newstatesman.com/encounte... https://www.theguardian.com/society/c... https://www.theguardian.com/commentis... https://unherd.com/2020/11/why-i-had-...    • Hadley Freeman speaks to Emma Barnett abou...