Woman's Hour - 30/12/2009

With Jenni Murray. Including: At this time of year, with New Year's Eve coming up, babysitters are much in demand. Traditionally the job has been a way for teenage girls to make a bit of extra money, but more and more boys are also keen to take on the role. Louise Adamson went along to a training course set up by a mother of two to find out what the boys are learning and what they feel they have to offer as babysitters. Although hard-partying Amy Winehouse may not seem like ideal mentor material for a young schoolgirl, she's certainly a good person to have as your godmother if you have pop stardom on your mind. So impressed was Amy by 13-year-old Dionne Bromfield's powerfully soulful singing voice that she made her the first signing on her own record label. Dionne tells Jenni how she balances concerts and photo shoots with her schoolwork, and performs live in the studio. In December 1919, the first piece of equal opportunities legislation entered the statute book. The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act enabled women to join the professions for the first time. They could now become lawyers, vets and accountants; they could sit on juries and become magistrates. But not all feminists were happy with the legislation. Ninety years after the Act was passed, Woman's Hour explores both the jubilation and the frustration it caused and considers the case of Helena Normanton, the first woman to be called to the Bar. This last decade, words like Twitter, blogging, iPhone, X-box, MySpace, Facebook, message boards, have entered the English language and become daily parlance. The online world used to be seen as a geeky male domain, but now we're hearing a lot about female social networking sites such as Mumsnet, which infiltrated politics with the 'Biscuitgate' affair. How much is new technology benefitting the 'ordinary' woman, and are these developments all positive news? Jenni talks to writer India Knight and clinical psychologist Dr Tanya Bryon.