Anyone who has ever worked in television knows it takes hard work and perseverance to get ahead or even to get your foot in the door.
Award winning foreign correspondent Sara James, who worked at NBC for over a decade, is one woman in TV who has made it to the top and she has just one piece of advice for other women wanting to follow her lead: raise your hand.
This morning James was joined by Deborah Hutton, NewsLifeMedia CEO Nicole Sheffield and broadcaster Kelli Underwood for the annual ASTRA Women in TV breakfast.
In a packed room at Sydney’s The Star politicians, TV presenters and commentators along with a raft of people who work behind the scenes listened to the all-female panel discuss many of the obstacles still facing women in the tough TV industry.
Sara James started her career by taking her own advice. She put her hand up to cover stories over the busy Christmas period when network stars generally go on holidays. She then paid her own way to Nicaragua to cover the civil conflict war.
Despite all her achievements, she says criticism over appearance is still one thing more female TV reporters face than their male counterparts.
“I learnt pretty early on hair was very important,” she said. “The higher the hair, the closer to God.”
Former model Deborah Hutton feels lucky to be a handful of women “north of 40” who are still working in television.
“There’s a clock ticking (for women working in TV),” she told the audience. “You can’t hear it, it’s digital, but it’s ticking.”
It’s well known that TV can be a fickle industry whereby a woman’s age and appearance can determine her on-air longevity in the business.
However there’s another obstacle for women in TV and it’s the same one facing all working women – the issue of childcare and returning to work after kids.
Nicole Sheffield has four children and heads up News Corp’s lifestyle division NewsLifeMedia. When asked what was harder – raising her kids or her job as CEO, Sheffield jokingly replied dealing with her mum was the hardest task she faces each day.
Sheffield and James, who has a daughter with special needs, both acknowledged working mums need help. Yet Sheffield is very concerned with the number of capable and experienced women leaving the workforce due to the high cost of childcare.
James also argues that both Australia and the US have a long way to go in providing more on-air opportunities for women.
“We have a deep, deep bench and we need to take more women off the bench and put them on the field,” she said. “We (women) see the world differently. If you bring diversity into the workplace (then) you see diversity on your television set.”
Hutton, who once held a gig hosting Lotto to pay the bills, also urges women to constantly reinvent themselves and upskill. She now has her own business, with a TV studio in her living room.
“For me it’s about getting your big girl britches on, getting out there and giving it a go,” she said. “You (also) need people to believe in you. You need a vision, and a great sense of humour.”
Nicole Sheffield wants to see more women in leadership roles and believes many already have the skills because “we’re better at juggling.” The best person should always get the job, she implored “and that best person is often a woman.”
Sara James hopes more women take her advice and raise their hands but she’s not naïve enough to think the mainly male dominated world of broadcast is going to change overnight.
“We really do need to change some of our thinking and not be fooled into thinking gender is not part of the equation.”
But for those women wanting a career in TV or to progress in their current role – put your hand up.
As Deborah Hutton put it “The world is there for us to grab it by the balls!”