Labour, work and productivity

Labour, work and productivity

From Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

January 30, 2026 · 57 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the concept of productivity in relation to labour and motherhood, exploring language, public debates, and economic implications.

What do we mean when we talk about productivity? Anne McElvoy and guests discuss labour in the context of both work and motherhood: what the language of childbirth tells us about how mothers and their bodies are viewed today; how the language of production and reproduction is used in the public and private contexts of the workplace, in macroeconomics, in the labour ward and at home; and the current public debates about parental and domestic labour, the maternal pay gap and the 'productivity puzzle'. With: John Callanan, Reader in Philosophy at King's College London Beth Malory, Lecturer in English Linguistics at University College London Patrick Foulis, author and journalist Corinne Low, Associate Professor of Economics at the Wharton School and author of Femonomics Helen Charman, Fellow in English at Clare College, Cambridge and author of Mother State: A Political History of Motherhood Producer: Eliane Glaser

People in this episode

Host: Anne McElvoy

Guests: John Callanan, Beth Malory, Patrick Foulis, Corinne Low, Helen Charman

Topics covered

  • productivity
  • labour
  • motherhood
  • language of childbirth
  • parental labour
  • maternal pay gap
  • public debates

Keywords

  • productivity
  • labour
  • motherhood
  • maternal pay gap
  • public debates
  • childbirth language
  • economic implications

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: King's College London, University College London, Wharton School, Clare College, Cambridge

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