Women in Media: 2025 in Review

The year in review: At the end of a packed 12  months, WiM’s Petra Buchanan, strategic advisor and Catherine Fox, editorial director, discuss what’s been happening  and what’s next for women in the sector

Catherine Fox

It's been a tumultuous year in many ways, and looking across the economy, the diversity backlash coming out of the US is clearly having some impact on employers here. Given Australia's legislative regime, and reporting obligations, organisations still have to measure and provide diversity data. But our business sector has been quieter -  I think many workplaces have been less active than in the past.

Petra Buchanan

I think we just saw this softening of momentum. It’s as though business is saying ‘we're not exactly going to take our foot off the accelerator, but we're just going to maybe pull it back a little’.

Catherine Fox

On the other hand, there was also some positive stuff for women in the sector this year, and I guess there were two that stood out to me. The Women in Media National Conference, as always, was an uplifting event: the number of younger and mid-career women who were there, and very enthusiastic, and some of the senior women running newsrooms. It was a reminder there are a lot of women in this sector who are so well-qualified and keen, and we saw that on display.

Petra Buchanan

The Conference has now been held in Sydney for three years, and this year it felt to me like we've arrived. The conference is now known and people prioritise attending. Women know the benefit of coming together, especially younger and mid-career women, who are possibly starting to feel a little disenchanted and questioning their next steps. The Conference showcases the power of what’s possible. Women doing really tough things, excelling, and navigating the speed bumps. And as you say, showcasing those senior women who are modelling a new standard of leadership.

Catherine Fox

I just kept thinking, that's very powerful. I wish early in my career I'd seen a panel like that, because it’s very affirming if you're a young woman starting out.

Petra Buchanan

And I think having heard the negative issues that are happening in some of the media outlets, whether it's bullying and harassment investigations, which is disappointing, we think, ‘Oh, God, is this still going on?’ But then you just look at some of this amazing talent, and clearly there is a shift, there are women that are hitting their strides and doing amazing work and leading by example.

Catherine Fox

The second thing that really struck me was listening to US journalist and author Hanna Rosin at the conference. She made a very strong point about why it's important to have women working not just in the media but around the table where they shape the agenda; the kinds of stories that are selected and told. And I did think of that in the context of the extraordinary work that's gone on this year around medical misogyny in the media. It would never have happened without a considerable number of senior women.

Petra Buchanan

I think the other thing, more specifically that I saw this year, around medical misogyny, was a focus on menopause. There has been an increased visibility of menopause within the broader conversation that's just never been there before. This aligns with a real acknowledgement of missing data and a lack of research focus on women because we haven't been the core element of a lot of that medical industry focus.

Catherine Fox

Turning to workplace issues, what's coming through loud and clear from the research that WiM has done this year is how important it is to provide progression paths. It’s important for everyone but of course women face particular challenges.  What would be your message to the people running our media, because it's clear that quite a lot of our members feel that's a real problem for them.

Petra Buchanan

By showing what's possible through our events and our activities, elevating emerging talent as well as those legends that make people say, ‘I want to do that’. But then within businesses and organisations, it's kind of HR 101: get your house in order in terms of line management, making sure that those annual reviews are really meaningful. And discuss how people are feeling and what do they want to be doing next in their career?

It's also up to each of us to set what our career trajectory is going to be. And that's where things like the Empowering Women in Media Leadership Program come in. That’s why that program is so important. When we look at that big gap at the top of the media tree, with 70% of leadership being male, and wanting to address and recalibrate, it’s making sure that we've got bench strength, women ready to step into senior roles,  that can no longer be overlooked.

Catherine Fox

We've got those statistics, which show 54% mid-career women feel let down because their employers have a weak commitment to gender equity. So we also know it's partly individual and it's partly systemic, and I think that's the part that's fallen off a bit this year, just generically. So given some of these themes, is there something that you'd love to see emerge next year?

Petra Buchanan

I'd love to see the media sector embrace 2030, goals, setting a bar, and really trying to collaboratively strive to achieve that. At the same time there are key workforce changes.  If I reflect on 2025 I just think every week there's something new coming out with AI - large language models, making complexity easier, accelerating efficiencies, and process changes. How is that going to affect the workforce? I'm an absolute optimist about AI and its potential. So, I look back on 2025 as that year that saw a lot of change, a lot of progress, a lot of uncertainty and people wondering what’s next. But I think it just sets us up for 2026 to say, ‘Okay, how do we harness and embrace this?’ And what can it mean for the recalibration of workplaces such that women come out better.

Catherine Fox

I hope that we see more of the younger women who have been stepping up in the sector and are incredibly articulate and outspoken. I think this whole idea that women aren't particularly good at networking is just not true. It doesn't have to be a formal mentoring thing. Hannah Ferguson, from Cheek Media, is uncompromising and quite emblematic of an entire group in the media who are doing interesting things away from the mainstream.

Petra Buchanan

Yes, and there is an integrity and an understanding about what Women in Media is here to do that is now well known and respected. I think that we will continue to nurture and grow that, and that's evidenced by the Oration this past year, and having Kitty Flanagan. That feeds into being a charitable organisation and needing to fundraise, and understanding our audience. So the conference is aimed at practitioners, and the Oration is for executives and government and stakeholders, because that's about fundraising. But I think fundamentally, as we continue, it’s important to remind people that the good work that we do is on the backs of many volunteers and individuals who care tremendously about not only the media sector, but women's success and leadership of it.