Let’s hear it for the girls

The ABC will recognise the achievements of women this International Women’s Day (IWD) Wednesday, March 8th, on all platforms.

The theme for this year’s IWD is on “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030“. 

The United Nations has marked IWD 2017 with a global call to “bridge the gender pay gap” which is currently 24% globally.

The harsh truth is that the gender pay-gap in the Australian media industry is 23.3%, as revealed by the Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality Agency last year. 

“It’s still in living memory for some of us when women were barred from reading the news, or not allowed to be visibly pregnant on-air. And it’s no secret that women are still under-represented on-air both in commercial and public media in this country,” said Michael Mason Director ABC Radio in an email to staff.

“At ABC Radio, we’ll be doing our bit on 8th March, to encourage the inclusion and empowerment of women by focussing on equality and showcasing the extraordinary breadth of talent of our women broadcasters, journalists, and content makers.”

All linear, and most DAB+ radio networks, will walk the walk, with a lineup of 100% female presenters.

“I know this is something that individual networks within Local Radio have already achieved in the past. This is an opportunity for the wider radio team to make a significant statement about one of the biggest issues we face today and I look forward to the audience and industry response to our collaborative national effort,” he said.

triple j led a truly creative approach in 2015 and 2016 by turning over the microphones to women and spinning the songs of female artists all day for #Girls to The Front, receiving a phenomenal audience reaction.  Last year, Hack did a brilliant job of crunching the numbers to show just how much lack of parity there is for women in the music industry today.”

triple j, triple j Unearthed and Double J will again celebrate IWD with an all women line-up. 

ABC Classic-FM is planning 24 hours of music written by female composers and preferencing female performing artists.  It will be all women hosting all day, with an OB from the State Library of Victoria.   

Capital City Radio Group:  Local Radio will have an all-female line-up across all eight cities, and relevant content on the day.

On RN, programs will be presented by women, with a focus on women.
Male presenters normally behind the mic will spend the day working their shifts behind the scenes.

“No guys, you don’t get the day off.”

 

 

 

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