The Walkley Directors made a one-off change to this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Journalism award to redress the lack of honours given to high-achieving women in our industry. Of the 30 awards granted since 1992, only seven have been awarded to women. Two were given to organisations. Since the award’s inception, 21 men have been honoured.
“This clearly does not reflect the make-up of our industry and the contributions women have made to the media industry over the decades,” said Adele Ferguson, Chair of the Walkley Foundation board. “We realised as a board that we must do better.”
As part of the launch of the 68th Walkley Awards, the directors of the Walkley Foundation issued a callout for nominations of significant female journalists, agreeing to recognise multiple women in this category.
The Outstanding Contribution to Journalism award is a decision of the Walkley Foundation board of directors with input from the journalism community. It is separate from the regular judging process of the Walkley Awards, which is carried out by the Walkley Judging Board.
Here we celebrate the eight industry leaders we honour in 2023 for their truly outstanding contribution to Australian journalism