I’ve found that saying yes, even when it might mean shuffling your schedule to make it all fit, often brings the most rewarding outcomes. I recently said yes to:
Global Women in PR (GWPR) which hosted a luncheon and presentation of their 2024 Index focused on the position and experiences of women working in the PR and communications industry. It was on the program of South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney 2024, a festival of creativity and innovation – so a great opportunity to see what this iconic event was all about too. Some key insights I took away:
- Balance, flexibility and WFH
Flexibility is critical for women in PR, but it goes beyond just working from home and we need to weigh up the downside caused by reduced exposure to senior leaders, less collaboration and shrinking professional networks. The message? Make you presence known and show your value. - Burnout, work stress and the right to disconnect
The 24/7 nature of PR – due to the 24/7 media cycle – is tough, and so where does that leave us in relation the new right to disconnect laws? Burnout and stress levels are high globally, but interestingly, it appears AI adoption has been slow among women, meaning there is an opportunity here to embrace tech tools to make work more efficient and manageable. - Board success
Boards are male dominated globally (only 24% female presentation) but in Australia we have proudly bucked the trend with 41% women on boards and in many cases 100% female representation. - Ageism or just a young person’s game
Age diversity is lacking in PR—only 5.1% of the industry is aged 50 or over, far below the national average. With just 18.5% of workers over 40 in PR (versus 62% in the broader population) we could ask ourselves if ageism is pushing experienced talent out of the industry too soon.
ACM’s Agri Perspectives dinner invitation was a hell yes from me – bringing together around 40 representatives of agribusiness at The Star Sydney’s Flying Fish dining room. It was equal parts delicious and insightful and a great networking opportunity. Some interesting takeaways included:
- Research and insights
ACM Agri’s QARS research of 1,700 broadacre farmers revealed interesting data about their business position: average business value $10.3 million, 92% equity in the farm and gross annual income average of $573K. In terms of media habits, ACM Agri reaches 78% of farmers monthly, 76% of farmers watch free-to-air TV, 66% tune into ABC Radio, 66% of the older generation still open direct mail and 53% are on Facebook. In younger farmers aged 45 years or less, 42% watch video and 23% listen to podcasts – a 19% increase. - Agri-Media evolution
To ensure continued leadership in reaching today’s farmers, whether older generations or the next gen, ACM Agri shared three, new initiatives; Pulse ID – a new technology for precision audience targeting making sure advertiser messages cost-effectively hit the right target; the launch of a new awards program to celebrate farmer excellence – the 2025 Australian Agricultural Awards; plus a new podcast – AgriCast – leveraging how farmers are leaning into podcasts to gain important industry and business insights and news. - Engaging Panel
The Land newspaper’s new editor, Samantha Townsend, led an insightful panel with Annabel Johnson of NSW Farmers and Jack Laurie of Breeder Genetics, who shared perspectives on advocacy, leadership, and innovative approaches to agriculture. Striking a chord for me was Annabel’s advice “you miss 100% of the opportunities you never go for” – so put yourself out there. And Jack was spot on when reminding us you “can’t just tell a story, you need to substantiate it” and that “sustainability is just a buzz word until you back it up and put some science behind it”.
So next time an invitation comes across your desk, stick with my mantra and just say yes. We’re always happy at HC to share the experiences we are having and what we are learning, so just ask one of the team if you’re curious to learn more!
Sue Hardman