Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Chair EHRC, Dame Harriet Walter, Grey divorce, PMDD
It was World Menopause Day yesterday, the last before employers of more than 250 people in England, Scotland and Wales are mandated to have a Menopause Action Plan in place. This new legal duty begins in April 2027. What does it actually mean and how will it be enforced? Nuala McGovern is joined by the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s revival of Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female Julius Caesar set in a woman’s prison, which originally ran at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012, is now touring secondary schools. Female prisoners from HMP New Hall in Wakefield and their resident drama group have worked alongside the production. Dame Harriet Walter, who plays Brutus, and Rachel Frank, a criminal justice associate, discuss their collaboration and what the young people and the women from the prison gain from the experience. For decades married couples have feared the seven-year itch. But the latest divorce statistics for England and Wales show opposite sex couples are now more likely to get divorced after 20 years of marriage. Just over a quarter of divorces last year happened after two decades - or more - of marriage, according to the Office for National statistics. Nuala speaks to break up and divorce coach, Sara Davison, to find out what's behind this trend and the implications for women. What if, for half of every month, you felt like a different person? That's the reality for many women living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, or PMDD. Laura Elizabeth Woollett is author of Hell Days, which blends her personal experience of the condition with research and cultural analysis. Dr Georgina Standen is, a GP and PMDD specialist on what latest research tells us about the condition and what treatments are available. Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley