Stylist mag launches TV show
Women’s magazine Stylist has this week launched a new TV show, Stylist Women of the House, hosted by Sky News presenter Isabel Webster.
Produced by Studio Sixty Billion, the programme will be a space designed to allow discussion on current topics such as women’s representation in Westminster and the effect of alcohol in the Houses of Parliament.
The pilot episode’s panel featured three female MPs including Kemi Badenoch, Hannah Bardell and Jess Phillips, where they discuss topics such as homophobia, abuse on social media, the misogyny law, and their personal experiences as female MPs in Westminster today.
The TV show is based on an idea by Women of the House co-creators Katie Perrior and Jo Tanner, and although Stylist magazine has previously ventured to represent women in UK politics, editor-in-chief Lisa Smosarski felt that women were still not being given a loud enough voice.
From left to right: Isabel Webster, Kemi Badenoch, Hannah Bardell and Jess Phillips.
“This year we are campaigning to make women more visible in all walks of life, but when you consider that just 32% of MPs are women you realise that there is still a long way to go,” Smosarski explained.
“If we are not 50/50 in parliament, we are not being truly represented and not setting an example to the rest of society. At Stylist we want this to change.
“This November marks 100 years since women could stand for parliament, and although we have a woman in the top seat as Prime Minister, we still aren’t represented properly across parties or in the House.
“Our mission is to encourage more women to engage with politics, consider a political career and to champion the women already making waves in Westminster – and what better way to do that than to create a space where female MPS can talk candidly about their lives in politics, share their opinions on key parliamentary topics and show us what it means to be a female MP in 2018… then broadcast that conversation to the world.”
Perrior commented: “After working for over 20 years in the male dominated world of Westminster politics, I felt that not only did we not hear enough from our female representatives, but they were often drowned out by others.
“I’m thrilled to create something that is not only thought provoking but also entertaining and warm. As Jo Cox once said, ‘we have more in common than that which divides us.’
“It’s time for more women to step up and be heard.”
The show will appear on stylist.co.uk and YouTube, with shorter edits appearing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.