Women in Media (WiM) is a nationwide networking and mentoring initiative to support and nurture women working in all facets of the media
Inspiring Change
Women in Media (WiM) is a nationwide networking and mentoring initiative to support and nurture women working in all facets of the media – from journalism and media advising to public relations and corporate affairs.
Women in Media aims to improve the working lives of women in media across Australia.
We operate across every state and territory in Australia. Find your local Committee.
Our Patrons
Caroline Jones
A statement from the inaugural national patron of Women in Media, Caroline Jones
It’s difficult to believe, but I’ve been working in media, mostly at the ABC, for 50 years!
Early last century, my grandfather, Ashley Pountney, was the editor of several pioneering newspapers in north-west NSW, like The Quirindi Advocate, The Murrurundi Times and The Werris Creek Express. And my mother, Nancy Pountney, wrote a column in the papers so I was not likely to escape having ‘ink in the blood’. Grandfather wrote rip-roaring editorials championing the interests of the local district and I’m happy to say that The Quirindi Advocate is still a fine newspaper and still owned and staffed by local people.
In my own career, I’ve had a go at everything – radio, TV, print, film production (at Film Australia) and six books along the way. When I started out as a television journalist in Canberra in the 1960s, women doing my job were a very rare species. I could not see a role model. I was lucky enough to have five years on the first national TV current affairs show, This Day Tonight, followed by nine years with ABC Four Corners concurrently with five years of live morning radio.
Then I joined The Search for Meaning for eight years on ABC Radio National. After a period of unemployment when that program was terminated, I’ve been with Australian Story on ABC TV since it began in 1996.
I’ve had a fortunate career but there were a few things that I missed very much. Especially in my early “regional” years in Canberra, how I would have appreciated some formal mentoring and opportunities to network with other women. Some workshops to learn how to cope with information overload; how to deal with a bully; how to stand my ground when challenged or belittled, how to fend off sexual harassment and to seek help, how to say no, how to attain appropriate professional status and remuneration, how to both have a family and maintain a career.
These things would have meant the world to me and I understand that women in media have the same needs today.
So that’s why I’m delighted to become patron of Women in Media, an MEAA initiative in which older women are offering the maturity of their experience to support, guide and nurture their younger and mid-career colleagues. It is a generous idea aimed at creating a happier future for women in media, on a more level playing field.
No doubt my heritage gives me a particular concern for those who work, in all forms of media, in the regions of Australia, as well as women on overseas postings.
For all the regional women – the communication for you will be mostly online but you can still be included in our mentoring program. It’s my hope that you will sometimes be able to attend the special interest workshops and networking gatherings that we will organise several times a year.
If you’re working in a city, why not link up with some of your regional colleagues on the WIM website, on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – we have a presence on every one of those sites. I do that and it gives me a wider circle of interest, information, education and friendship. As well, I invite you all to remember those women who work as foreign correspondents in the various forms of media, and make sure that they share in the networking, support and solidarity which we plan to offer through WIM.
Let’s make WIM effective for all the women who would like to be involved.
Caroline
National Convenor
Tracey Spicer
Tracey Spicer is one of the most versatile journalists in the country, with a portfolio spanning television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and new media. During her 25-year career, she has anchored news, current affairs and lifestyle programs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Currently, Tracey works as an anchor for Sky News, weekly columnist for Fairfax Media and The Hoopla, radio broadcaster, and presentation trainer at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. She is best known for presenting Channel 10’s national weekend and morning news services for 14 years. Tracey has written, produced and presented documentaries for NGOs in Bangladesh, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, and India.
The mother-of-two is an Ambassador for ActionAid, World Vision, Life’s Little Treasures, Karitane, and Dying with Dignity, Patron of the NSW Cancer Council, and face of the Garvan Institute’s research into pancreatic cancer. As you’d probably guess from her twitter feed (!), Tracey is passionate about women’s rights, social justice, and equal opportunity.
Women in Media aims to improve the working lives of women in the industry by:
Women in Media campaigns to close the equity and opportunity gap for women in media, namely, superannuation for periods of parental leave, better reporting breakdowns on staff make-up, pay rates and management structure by gender and access to family violence leave.
Women in Media works directly with media companies, educating senior management on the need for greater support for women in the media, the need for sponsorship and mentoring within organisations and creating a best-practice environment to ensure women are able to fully and equitably contribute to their industry – be it news, public relations, communications or creative freelance.
Our national mentoring program draws together senior industry figures to offer women in the early stages of their career support, advice and the benefit of their experience. Find out more about our mentoring program.
Women in Media holds events that focus on women’s issues including panel discussions, keynote addresses, professional development and Q&A sessions that aim to bolster confidence, offer networking opportunities, training and the chance to hear from women in senior positions in the media industry. Find out more about our events.
Women in Media commissions important research regarding gender and women’s participation in media industries. Read the Women in Media Report 2016.
Findings from our latest research
41% of women said they’d been harassed, bullied or trolled on social media, while engaging with audiences; several were silenced, or changed career.
Only 16% of respondents were aware of their employer’s strategies to deal with threats.
Almost half (48%) said they’d experienced intimidation, abuse or sexual harassment in the workplace.
A quarter of the women who’d taken maternity leave said they’d been discriminated against, upon return to work. Some said they’d been put on the ‘mummy track’.
One in three (34%) said they didn’t feel confident to speak up about discrimination.
There’s evidence of an entrenched gender pay gap (reinforced by research from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency of a 23.3% gap in the sector).
Our Partners
Women in Media is proudly supported by:
Contact Women in Media
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