Kirsty Wark discovers Glasgow stories in The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland

Over the course of three programmes, a new television series will tell the stories of key women who have had a role in shaping Scotland over the last 50 years.

Presented by Kirsty Wark, it highlights the women who challenged the status quo in the 1960s and 70s, those who defied sexism to seize new opportunities in the 80s and 90s, and the women who, in more recent years, have stepped up to lead – in politics, in their communities and in the workplace.

The series will feature some well-known names, from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to Elaine C Smith, but also highlights an extraordinary range of women who may not be famous but whose passion and commitment have changed the lives of everyone in Scotland.

Kirsty tells the stories of those who fought to change the systems and structures that were holding women back. She hears from the family of Jean Porcelli, a science technician at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Academy who fought a landmark sexual harassment case in the 1980s and changed the law for women across Britain.

She meets the women who founded the Glasgow Women’s Library – still the only organisation of its kind in the UK, Roza Salih, co-founder of the Glasgow Girls campaigners originally from Drumchapel High School, and Glasgow-based human rights campaigner Pinar Aksu.

Commissioned by BBC Scotland, the series has been produced by Two Rivers Media and follows their previously successful series The Years That Changed Modern Scotland, also presented by Kirsty Wark and first shown in 2021.

This new series has been produced in partnership with The Open University (OU) in Scotland, whose consultants on the series included Dr Kim Barker, Senior Lecturer in Law, and Dr Helen O’Shea, Lecturer in History. Dr Valerie Wright, of the University of Glasgow, also acted as a consultant on the series working with Two Rivers Media.

Dr Kim Barker, OU Academic Consultant on the series, says “From Shetland to Shettleston women have shaped modern Scotland - its laws, its politics, its culture, its workforce - and this series presents their remarkable stories. Often these women have faced great struggles, yet for many still, their stories remain untold. These are voices that should be heard.”

Kirsty Wark says: “This series will celebrate the monumental achievements of women, many of them unsung, who some quietly, and others shouting from the rafters, did so much to transform the lives of women and men in Scotland and beyond in the last five decades. They campaigned, they cajoled, they sang, they bravely made a path and encouraged others to follow. Whether it was sport, stage, screen or fighting sex discrimination they made modern Scotland.”

The first episode of The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland will go out on the BBC Scotland channel on Tuesday February 21 at 10pm, with all three episodes available to stream at that time on BBC iPlayer.