At 28, Alison Shaw is the average age for having a first child, but there is no chance of her conforming to the national norm. An assistant producer from the BBC regions, Alison was so wary of the climate at the corporation that she refused to have her real name used. "There are a lot of people being laid off just now, and you realise that even discussing the issue of children means you could be singled out.
"I very much do want a child, but I know it's going to be difficult. It's not as if I work in a bank. I'm working on a busy magazine show, and I could be away for perhaps two days out of five. But I never know in advance.
"My partner is a journalist too, and he has a pager and is continually oncall, which is something generally expected in the media now.
"The job situation is so bad that you've got to be more competitive. And there is a culture at the BBC which dictates that you must be completely committed to your employer: if you have a child, your employer behaves almost like a betrayed lover.
"I look at women around me with children, and it seems very tricky for them. They try to conceal it - for example they'll say it's better to pretend you're going to have your car mended or visit the dentist than to get home early to a sick child." J.T.
