APN CEO Miller: Industry needs more women in senior roles
The CEO of Australia’s third largest publisher APN News & Media Michael Miller has told a forum that there are not enough women in senior leadership position in the sector and urged them “to do more” about the issue.
Speaking on an all male panel at the newspaper industry’s Future Forum yesterday which consisted of himself, Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood, News Corp Australia boss Julian Clarke and West Australian Newspapers chief Chris Wharton, Miller said that while media outperformed some other sectors more emphasis was need on the topic.
“It’s a challenge, I think it’s sad that we don’t have more females in leadership positions,” said Miller, “however, putting it into context the University of the Sunshine Coast did a survey, last year looking at the number of women working in media, not just newspapers, and found that 55 per cent are female, that’s up from a third ten years ago.”
He also pointed to television as another male industry, with Lou Barrett having recently broken the logjam with her appointment to lead ten’s media sales. “I look at not just newspapers but other media, like TV, the news directors are men, there’s one (female) sales director, but most of the station managers and CEOs are male. If you look at the ASX top 500 companies in Australia and media actually out perform the other companies in females in senior roles,” he said.
“But we need to do more.”
Miller, who moved across from News Corp in May, also singled out his previous employer and some of the high profile appointments it has made in recent years appointing the likes of Nicole Sheffield CEO of NewsLifeMedia and Fiorella Di Santo its group sales director.
“I think News Corp has done a great job in the last couple of years in terms of putting females in more senior roles,” he said. “I’d be hopeful that we are seeing, through weight of numbers, more females coming through and that in future years we would see better representation. ”
Fairfax’s Hywood said his company was trying to ensure greater female representation within its leadership. “We want more women in leadership,” said Hywood. “The question is can you actually do that so we decided to do was that in the interview panel there has to be a woman.”
“This is so that you don’t get the bias you might get of males choosing males and that is the approach we do. I think you have to systematically do things inside your business to bring about that outcome.”
West Australian Newspapers chief Chris Wharton conceded to the PANPA forum that there were not that many people in his top leadership team. “It is happening we have a lot of female executives in our business”, said Wharton, “I think currently 55 per cent of our managers are women but around my top executives I’ve probably only got a few women.”
“But there are women there and you treat them on their merit.”
News Corp’s Clarke told the forum that of his 12 direct reports, five are women.
“The argument often is that change is not quick enough,” said Clarke. “But from where I sit can I see any difference in skill, experience or commitment between a male or a female? None at all.”
“The sort of additional camera angle that women are bringing to the industry is not only important it is essential.”
Clarke argued that a change in female representation in leadership is coming.
“It may not be happening at a speed that some people want but it is happening. However, at the end of the day the employer is going to make the (hiring) decision based on whether the person is working or not.”
Nic Christensen
I recommend a quick look at the Pay TV sector if you would like an example of gender diversity.
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Of course he could simply appoint people rather than talk it up?
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What is Hywood saying? It’s rare few who make it into senior roles at Fairfax. In my experience, they’re all streets ahead of their game playing male counterparts.
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