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Still The Daily Male - by Jennifer Peterson-Ward

13 Apr 2011

The ultimate success is to find your own voice.
Geraldine Doogue, speaking at Women in Media’s first event for 2011.

Women journalists have come a long way since the days of Betty Friedan and Marguerite Higgins, but after all is said and done, journalism still appears to be a man’s world.

Despite the increasing success of women in journalism, international studies show that women comprise 33-38 per cent of newsmakers (that is, reporters and sub-editors) around the world, but hold just 0.1-0.9 per cent of the decision-making roles. Likewise, though Australian female students now heavily outnumber males in communications and media courses, and have done for the best part of a decade, women in the industry remain clustered in the lower-paid, low-status reporting roles.

While it is often a hard and frustrating way of life, there is quite a lot to be said by and about the women who choose to live it. One example is Geraldine Doogue, one of the nation’s most admired female journalists and broadcasters.

From the coverage of the Gulf War to the exploration of modern spirituality, she has sought to capture the challenges and opportunities facing Australians for more than 30 years, but few would be aware of the inherent struggle accompanying her success as a woman in the male-dominated media world. 

Geraldine Doogue spoke to an assembly of more than 100 female journalists, public affairs professionals and communications specialists gathered at the ABC studios in East Perth on March 30 for Women in Media’s first event for 2011.

In discussion with former ABC journalist Miriam Borthwick, Doogue spoke candidly about her experiences as a woman in the media world. She focused on the ongoing struggle for equal treatment in the newsroom, while addressing topics ranging from parenthood to international assignments and occupational stability.

Reminiscing about her early years as a cadet journalist with The West Australian, Doogue reflected on the gender inequality that left decision-making in the newsrooms mostly to men. “When I first entered The West newsroom it was very patriarchal,” she said. “You had to learn to cop it, and not just cop it – be gracious about it. It was very much that you played by the men’s rules.”

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