Working for Auntie Beeb: Australian women and gendered career pathways at the BBC

This project will analyse the position, working conditions, and national and professional identity of Australian women who worked at the BBC, within the context of the broadcaster’s role in defining Britishness and fostering imperial connections. It will also examine gendered career paths in television and radio broadcasting, with an emphasis on women who worked in technical positions such as camera, editing and engineering. This research will enable a comparison with women employed at the Australian Broadcasting Commission/Corporation - an institution that was directly modelled on the BBC, yet provided different opportunities for women. I will conduct archival research and oral history interviews, convene a workshop on 'Gender, technology and broadcasting', and in collaboration with the BBC Connected Histories project team at the University of Sussex, contribute significantly to two new BBC websites, on links between Britain, Australia and the Commonwealth, and on pioneering women at the BBC.