NI Railways - First Female Conductor
From the collection of
Access for the Disabled
- Belfast
- 1987-03-10
NI Railways - First Female Conductor (Six Tonight)
A breakthrough for gender equality on the railways.
Ruth Davis is standing on the platform of Belfast's Central Station blowing a whistle to start a train. The voiceover of reporter Paul Clark informs us that she had just been voted Northern Ireland Railways' 'Personality Girl'. She is shown working with parcels and we are told she originally worked with computers, but disliked the office and took a job as a porter. Now she has successfully managed to become a train conductor, having been the only woman to apply.
Much of the interview with both Ruth and her boss in the company focuses on how she might be able to handle an unruly passenger - the implication being that women can't manage such aspects of the job. The report mentions that Ruth is the first ever female conductor on Northern Ireland's railways in the 150 years since the running of the first train in Ireland.
The idea that a woman working on a train might be newsworthy may seem hard to comprehend today and some of the questioning, as well as terms like 'Personality Girl' display a casual sexism which would be challenged today. It's thanks to trailblazers like Ruth taking on jobs previously set aside for men that this kind of equality no longer seems at all remarkable.
Good Evening Ulster was the weekday tea-time local news round-up for Ulster Television throughout much of the 1980s and helped to launch the careers of household names such as Gloria Hunniford and Eamonn Holmes.
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Diversity and Inclusion
A selection of news clips from the UTV archives highlighting the struggle for equality and diversity in Northern Ireland.
The 1980s and 1990s saw several significant changes in Northern Irish society. From improving services and support for neurodiverse people and people with physical disabilities, to amending workplace laws to address inequality for women, UTV documented many small but significant steps towards progress.
The channel also covered Northern Ireland's growing diversity in terms of population. People from all over the world moved to the country to live and work. In this collection, we learn more about the Chinese, Indian, Persian and other communities that now call Northern Ireland home.
55 videos in this collection
1
Access for the Disabled
2
Benefits Protest - Women Take Action
3
Year of the Snake - A Chinese New Year Celebration
4
Calling Indian Entrepreneurs
5
Indian Business Forum Celebrates Three Years of Success
6
The Fine Art of Indian Cookery
7
Working from Home... 80s Style
8
A Garden for Everyone
9
Man Regains His Vision
10
Hearing Dogs for the Deaf
11
Sympathetic Hearing Scheme
12
Institute for the Deaf Renovated
13
Anne Hailes Visits the Share Centre
14
The Glencraig Community
15
Women Clergy
16
A Drive for More Inclusive Language
17
A Victory for Equal Pay
18
Making the Fairway Fair
19
Women and Work Vox Pops
20
Women in the Professions
21
An Artist's Group for Women
22
Know Your Rights
23
Jo Richardson discusses Equal Pay
24
Women's Coalition Party Election Broadcast, 2003
25
Woman's Coalition Party Election Broadcast, 1998
26
Meet Charlotte Anderson
27
PA Macglochlainn Campaigns for Gay Rights
28
I am of Ireland
29
Campaign for Free Pensioner Transport
30
Fishing for the Disabled with Jack Charlton
31
Housing for the Disabled
32
Open University Degree for the Blind
33
Sailing Boat for the Disabled
34
Ardkeen Hostel for the Disabled
35
NI Railways - First Female Conductor
36
Equality in the 1990s Workplace
37
Listening to Deaf People
38
Equal Opportunities Commission Reports on Sexual Discrimination
39
Women Voting
40
Making the Workplace Equal for Blind People
41
Raising Deaf Awareness in the Workplace
42
Bringing Women Together Online
43
Celebrating the Persian New Year
44
Raising Awareness in the 1990s
45
Bowling for Wheelchair Users
46
Better Representation for All
47
Charlotte Receives a Cochlear Implant
48
The Well Woman Charity
49
The Women's Conference
50
Making the Ulster Museum More Accessible
51
Dragon Boats
52
Disabled Rights
53
Belfast's Bahá?í Community Celebrates Peace
54
Democrashe: Getting Women into Politics
55