The latest research among women in the media industry has revealed how a majority of women are unsure or explicitly dissatisfied with their career progress, and more than one-third are contemplating leaving their jobs.
Petra Buchanan, the strategic advisor to Women in Media, said that increased levels of anxiety and dissatisfaction were "alarmingly evident' in this year's respondents.
"Career aspirations are being overshadowed by concerns about pay inequity and a lack of advancement opportunities," she said.
"The financial pressure, being felt across various sectors of the economy currently, is starkly reflected in these findings, with inadequate remuneration topping the list of grievances.
"Increasingly, senior and mid-career women are considering quitting their jobs driven by worry about the availability of senior roles and increased fear of redundancy."
Some of the key findings were:
- Career Progress Concerns: 57 per cent dissatisfied or unsure;
- Intent to Leave: 35 per cent are considering quitting their jobs;
- Perception of Gender Equality: 56 per cent hold a negative view;
- Pay Concerns: 58 per cent concerned about better pay.
The survey, which received responses from 329 women working in diverse media roles across Australia, found that career dissatisfaction was at a three-year high.
Curiously, in an industry in which journalism and reporting was already squarely in the target sights of job losses to AI, nearly half (49 per cent) of those surveyed believe AI technology was "particularly useful for research and content creation purposes".
