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The number of sex discrimination claims brought by workers against their employers has fallen by 80 per cent since charges were introduced. Rules brought in by the government last July mean that workers have to pay up to £1200 to take their employer to a tribunal. The TUC say fees are deterring women from taking action when they are victims of discrimination and they want the charges to be abolished. Supporters of the new rules say charging a fee prevents workers bringing spurious charges against their employer.ÌýJenni speaks to Scarlet Harris – Women’s Equality Officer at the TUC.

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The right of children to play is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child but in the rush to teach and over-schedule children are we neglecting their need to play? A set of keys will occupy a baby but as children get older how can they be enabled to play independently and creatively? How can adults keep and develop their playing skills or should we just leave the kids to get on with it and stop worrying? This , the national day for play in the UK, Jenni is joined by Ìýwhose new book ‘The Playful Parent’ puts play at the heart of family life and an academic who has studied the importance of play to children worldwide.

Marilyn French is regarded as one of the finest feminist writers. Her novel The Women’s Room was published in 1977 and quickly became a classic of the women’s movement. Almost 30 years after its publication French reflects on the anger within the novel and why she wanted to write it.ÌýÌý Marilyn French died, aged 79, on May 2 2009.

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Swedish-born director Maria Aberg never thought she would work for the Royal Shakespeare Company after what she describes as a disastrous interview for an Assistant Director job in 2003. She couldn’t have been more wrong. John Webster’s bloody revenge tragedy, , is her fifth directorial role for the RSC. The play is part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘Roaring Girls’ season of Jacobean plays offering strong roles for women. She talks to Jenni about her gender swap version of ‘The White Devil’ and her efforts to address the gender bias in the British theatre industry.

Ìýidentified as a lesbian for twenty years but is now in a relationship with a man, Jayne Headon-Meldrum was married to man for over 20 years and they had children together, but she now in a relationship with a woman.Ìý They join Jenni to discuss the reactions they have experienced to their changed sexual identities.

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Rosie Garland’s new book, Vixen, is out now