Numbers Show Lack Of Gender Diversity On Popular UK Quiz Show University Challenge

Numbers Show Lack Of Gender Diversity On Popular UK Quiz Show University Challenge
Kathleen Farmilo
By Kathleen Farmilo
SHARE
THIS



Arguably one of Britain’s most iconic programs, BBC2’s University Challenge has a serious gender diversity problem.

For the uninitiated, University Challenge sees teams from the UK’s top universities compete in an intellectually rigorous quiz show, presided over by the intimidating and inimitable host Jeremy Paxman.

However, according to The Times, of the 64 contestants who have appeared on the current series, only 17 were women – a proportion of just 27 per cent. Incredibly, this number is actually a record high for the show, equal with the 2018 season.

As reported by Indy100, there were no all-female teams entered for three years between 2017 and 2020. This series features just one all female team, from Peterhouse College at the University of Cambridge.

Former female contestants have cited women lacking the confidence to try out for the show, due to what former winning Peterhouse captain Hannah Rose Woods described as the “deeply gendered connotations” of general knoweldge.

“If you’ve grown up being told that something isn’t ‘for’ someone like you, it’s hard not to internalise that logic,” she told the Rado Times in 2018.

Woods also had concerns about how an appearance on the show could hinder her work, telling the publication, “I worried about how taking part in the programme might impact my career, when Google searches started returning hundreds of articles about my appearance, and random marriage proposals I’d received from strangers, instead of my academic research.”

Another factor potentially preventing women from applying for the show includes the vitriolic online abuse experienced by former female contestants.

In 2020, Lucy Clarke, who appeared on the team for Jesus College, Oxford, wrote for The Guardian about her experience.

She also cited the fact that selection within academic insitutions often favours men, but continued “after my experience with the social media circus, though, I think there’s another big reason: women don’t apply because being on the show is horrible.”

Her story referenced Tweets she saw, including a man whose bio declared him as a grandad of six.

He wrote: “all these knobs on here saying they got [a question on] massive attack along with everyone else, what other question have you answered ? Plus I’ll guess Clarke sucks like a fucking Dyson.”

Others tweeted about her appearance, including “what a mess, did she get dressed in the dark?”

Lack of gender diversity – and the social media abuse received by women – have been longstanding problems of the show. In 2015, Jeremy Paxman himself introduced the series final by promising tougher questions, and then said: “few tougher, perhaps, than why on earth are there no women left in this stage of the competition?”

Regarding the lack of gender diversity, a BBC spokesperson told The Times, “we will always do everything we can to encourage more women to take part as contestants.”

“While the make-up of each team is ultimately decided by the university it represents, we encourage all teams who apply to reflect the diversity of their student population, and we will continue to look at how we can work with universities to help them with this.”

Featured Image: The 2020/2021 grand final of University Challenge between Warwick University and Magdalene College, Cambridge, which featured one female contestant, Ceri Payne. YouTube/Dave Garda

 

Please login with linkedin to comment

BBC2 diversity and inlcusion sexism University Challenge

Latest News

Vision6 Launches First-Ever National Brand Campaign “Simply Reliable”
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns

Vision6 Launches First-Ever National Brand Campaign “Simply Reliable”

Australian owned and operated email and SMS marketing software company, Vision6, announced the launch of its first-ever national brand campaign and new brand platform “Simply Reliable”. Founded in 2001, Vision6 was one of the first email marketing software providers in Australia and has since been relied upon by thousands of Aussie businesses and organisations for […]

JCDecaux New Zealand Grows Its Team To Lead Street Furniture Tender
  • Media

JCDecaux New Zealand Grows Its Team To Lead Street Furniture Tender

Out-of-Home media company JCDecaux New Zealand has appointed business growth specialist Adam McGregor in preparation for its bid to win upcoming local government street furniture tenders across the country. With contracts for the provision of street furniture including bus shelters across New Zealand up for renewal from late 2022, they collectively represent the biggest advertising […]

ABC iview Goes Virtual With Fetch TV
  • Media

ABC iview Goes Virtual With Fetch TV

Fetch TV has announced that ABC iview will soon be available as a dedicated Virtual Playlist Channel on the Fetch platform. Virtual Playlist Channels (VPCs) were developed by Fetch to promote content discovery, and to provide a clear bridge between the traditional world of linear TV and the growing availability of on demand content via […]

Jackie Gillies Joins The Acast Creator Network
  • Media

Jackie Gillies Joins The Acast Creator Network

Jackie Gillies, businesswoman, psychic medium and cast member of The Real Housewives of Melbourne is bringing her sassy, inspirational and adventurous spirit to her new podcast Shine It Up, With Jackie Gillies, which launches today via Acast. Hosted and distributed by the creator-first podcast company Acast, the show will offer listeners inspiration and motivation to […]

Hungry Vax, Jabstar, JAB Hi-Fi: Aussie Designers Give Iconic Logos A Pro-Vax Revamp
  • Media
  • Technology

Hungry Vax, Jabstar, JAB Hi-Fi: Aussie Designers Give Iconic Logos A Pro-Vax Revamp

Crowdsourcing platforms DesignCrowd and BrandCrowd are promoting vaccination efforts in a unique way, launching a logo redesign contest among their networks of designers. The initiative saw iconic Australian brands such as Hungry Jack’s, Jetstar, JB Hi-Fi, and Bunnings undergo a redesign.  “We thought it would be fun to see some other iconic Australian brands back […]

Harper’s Bazaar Australia Appoints Jillian Davison As Editor In Chief
  • Media

Harper’s Bazaar Australia Appoints Jillian Davison As Editor In Chief

Jillian Davison has been named editor-in-chief of the recently relaunched Harper’s BAZAAR Australia. She will oversee all content, development and creative direction across the iconic magazine’s digital and brand platforms. Davison (pictured) succeeds Eugenie Kelly, who recently stepped down to pursue other opportunities. The announcement was made by Maureen Jordan, publisher of Harper’s BAZAAR Australia […]

72andSunny Unveils First Campaign For Plant-Based Drink Brand Australia’s Own
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns

72andSunny Unveils First Campaign For Plant-Based Drink Brand Australia’s Own

Freedom Foods and 72andSunny Sydney have launched the first advertising campaign for Australia’s Own range of plant-based beverages. The campaign introduces a new visual world and identity for the brand and captures the healthy, positive feeling you get when spending time in nature and when consuming Australia’s Own certified-organic, plant-based beverages. As well as featuring […]