Twenty Questions to a Fellow Blogger Part LXXXVII: Alice Dale

Alice Dale has been blogging for nearly a year on issues about women, or that may affect women, or anything else that seems to attract her attention when she has the time.


What made you decide to start blogging?

I found out a woman I admired and worked with was being paid £10,000 less than her make equivalents and I was feeling a certain frustration with the lack of information and news out there. Once I started though I was reassured to find that there is more information available ...

What is your best blogging experience?

Anytime I can get away with it without my boss noticing.


And your worst?

Getting nasty messages - I am all up for debate but I like a bit of courtesy.

What do you regard as your best blog entry?

The one where the Gender Analyser described me as 92% male.


Favourite blogs?

The F Word, The Honeyball Buzz, And Another Thing ...

Given that your blog is about feminism, how much progress would you say has been made in the past thirty years and where do you think much needs to be done?

I think a lot of people consider that the job has been done and so when trying to get traction on issues of equal pay and rape conviction rates the progress can be glacial. The fact that a lot of women feel very comfortable in their everyday lives is always reassuring though, and the next steps are to make sure that solutions are sought for the worst abuses of women .

For those who don't know, what is the Henna Foundation?

The Henna Foundation is a Cardiff-based organisation that helps women (and some men) escape from forced marriages and the associated honour-based violence.

How hopeful are you that the gender pay gap will soon close?

I used to be hopeful that when more women could access better jobs that the pay gap would naturally close up. I think the example I mentioned at the top shows that in some organisations it doesn't matter if you get the job, the pay still doesn't always match up.

Is there anywhere abroad which you haven't been to, that you would like to visit?

I would love to travel up and down the length of the Americas.

Is there anywhere abroad you have visited, that you would love to revisit?

Italy - the food, the weather, all perfect.

Do you have a favourite political figure in history?

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. She held the Whig party together and was active in politics in a way that no woman had been.

Which figure has been your greatest inspiration?

Queen Elizabeth I - the first monarch to say that religion doesn't matter.


Favourite Bond movie?

Casino Royale


Favourite Doctor Who?

Christopher Ecclestone.


Chocolate, vanilla, or mint?

Chocolate, always chocolate.

Which Band, past or present, would you most like to see in concert?

Kings of Leon

In terms of visiting for the weekend, Oxford, Cambridge, or Barsby, Leics..?

Oxford - good architecture, good shops, good nightlife. What more do you need?


Favourite national newspaper?

The Guardian - it has the strongest women's section and has done for over 40 years.

What would you say your hobbies were?

Making lists, reading, yoga.


And what would you say were your three favourite songs and three favourite books (Bar the Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare)?

Books would be: The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling); The Duchess (Amanda Foreman); and The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde). Three favourite songs are: Magic (Ladyhawke); I bet that you look good on the dancefloor (Arctic Monkeys); and Celebrity Skin (Hole)