Where are all the women in the public realm?

There are more statues of animals than named women in London’s public spaces. So we look at the first statue of a woman in Parliament Square, Westminster. Listen as we share the story of Millicent Fawcett who, alongside many other women, fought hard to secure women’s right to vote.

We then take the journey from Westminster to West Hampstead, Camden, where pioneering novelist and educator Beryl Gilroy became one of London’s first Black headteachers – at a school that, until recently, was named after a slave-owner. Now, a mural outside the newly renamed primary school where she taught is a permanent celebration of her legacy.

Two pieces of eye–catching art tell a multitude of stories – not only of two women’s achievements centuries apart, but also of the Windrush generation, London’s past links to slavery and empire, and modern-day strides towards feminism.

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Presenter: Aindrea Emelife, Curator of Modern and Contemporary at MOWAA (Museum of West African Art).

Contributors: Darla Gilroy, Beryl Gilroy’s daughter and Associate Dean of the Knowledge Exchange of Central St Martin’s; Debbie Weekes-Barnard, Deputy Mayor, Communities and Social Justice; Eleanor Pinfield, Head of Art on the Underground; Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries; Manasi Pophale, founder of History Speak; Zing Tsjeng, journalist and author of the Forgotten Women series.

Produced by Sylvie Carlos. Sound design by Weyland Mckenzie-Witter. Hosted on Spotify. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast series are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Mayor of London.