Before women could formally practise as lawyers, let alone sit as magistrates or judges, two women were appointed as judges in the Industrial Court. In this episode, Professor Erika Rackley discusses how this happened, as well as women’s representation on our courts and what - if anything - this has to do with Hans Christian Andersen’s 'Little Mermaid'.

Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0

The 1918 General Election was the first time that women could be elected to parliament. But it would be another 10 years until women could vote on the same terms as men. In this episode we speak to Dr Mari Takayanagi, historian and senior archivist at the Parliamentary Archives, about the later years of the suffrage campaigns and the first women MPs.

Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0

In 1920, women were finally able to sit alongside men in the jury box. But why had it taken so long for women to sit as members of a jury? And why is this such an important milestone in women’s history? In this episode, we speak to Dr Kay Crosby about the first women jurors in the English courts.

Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0