Journalist and author Mary Ann Sieghart joins Julie for Episode Seven of Ask A Woman to discuss her new book ‘The Authority Gap’. In the episode, Mary Ann explains her research into why women are still taken less seriously than men and how the pandemic could change things. They also discuss the issue of sexism in schools, making parenting an equal occupation and just some of the 140 things Mary Ann thinks you can do to be a better feminist. We hear the stories that inspired her book,...

Former education secretary Justine Greening joins Julie Etchingham in Episode Five to explain why the government is better at handling potholes than people and needs to change. The daughter of a Rotherham steel worker and first openly gay government minister resigned from the cabinet in 2018, before ultimately quitting Parliament, after then-PM Theresa May surprisingly moved her out of the key role in pushing social mobility. Now pursuing the goal outside politics, Justine critiques the...

Are authors better equipped to handle lockdowns? Why is the pandemic dividing rather than uniting the world? And how do you handle being prosecuted for something a fictional character in your novel says? Award-winning Turkish-British novelist Elif Shafak joins Julie Etchingham on Ask A Woman to answer those questions and more. Elif has earned a global and devoted readership for titles that range from The Forty Rules Of Love, How To Stay Sane In An Age Of Division and The Bastard of...

ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham is back with another series of Ask A Woman - the podcast that seeks enlightening answers from bright, powerful, fascinating and funny women. Leading economist Kalpana Kochhar joins Julie this week to chat about why the pandemic is a wake-up call for gender equality. Kalpana is the current Director of the IMF’s Human Resources Department and has worked for the Fund for over 30 years. She will soon be joining the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where she...

ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham is back with another series of Ask A Woman - the podcast that seeks enlightening answers from bright, powerful, fascinating and funny women. Criminal barrister Alex Wilson joins Julie this week to chat about her journey into law. In the episode, Alex discusses: 2:46 - being mistaken for a defendant in court more than once 11:07 - how losing a close friend to knife crime inspired her journey into law 13:50 - navigating Oxford University 20:21 -...

ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham is back with another series of Ask A Woman - the podcast that seeks enlightening answers from bright, powerful, fascinating and funny women. After a small pause caused by a big pandemic, Julie's out to find out what each guest has learned in lockdown and ask them: what comes next? The first guest in the new eight-part series is comic performer, TV presenter and now novelist Mel Giedroyc, who tells Julie: 1:30 - why she's spent so much time in a cupboard...

The chief executive of Orchid Project, a charity she set up with the aim of creating a world free of female genital mutilation, talks about the moment she decided she was going to change her life to tackle the issue.

Political commentator, comedian and former Labour adviser Ayesha Hazarika talks to Julie Etchingham about why she thinks Brexit has caused public trust in politics to plunge further, why Jeremy Corbyn should back a second referendum, her journey from civil service press officer to comedian - and the impression of Ed Miliband she developed while helping to prepare the former Labour leader for Prime Minister's Questions against David Cameron. Julie also asks Ayesha about whether she has...

In our Ask A Woman interview series, Julie Etchingham talks to women from all walks of life about their experiences and how they got to where they are today. In this episode, Julie speaks to Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who's the party's shadow foreign secretary. She reveals to us that Labour would expect the Scottish National Party's support to get a new Brexit deal through parliament should the party enter a minority government in the coming months, Mrs Thornberry also speaks to us about...

In our Ask A Woman interview series, Julie Etchingham talks to women from all walks of life about their experiences and the advice they would offer to young women today. Having any role to play in Harry and Meghan's royal wedding must have been daunting. But how did it feel to create the masterpiece cake viewed by millions and eaten by 700 guests, including the Queen and Oprah? According to Claire Ptak, the answer is: a little stressful. She is the now-famous baker from California who, one...

In our Ask A Woman interview series, Julie Etchingham talks to women from all walks of life about their experiences and the advice they would offer to young women today. In this, our first episode, Julie speaks to former EU trade negotiator and international trade lawyer Miriam González Durántez. In the interview, Ms González Durántez says Theresa May has made an 'unforgivable' mistake in her negotiations with the EU which has weakened Britain unnecessarily. Ms González Durántez, who was...