Story topic and angle
Recently, in a reputed online newspaper, I came across an article on Australia’s narrowest recorded gender pay gap. I found the news interesting, as the gender pay gap is one of the major woman’s rights issues currently prevalent in Australia. If we go back in history, women were largely excluded from public and political life in Australian society.
For instance, it was not until 1943 that women were considered eligible enough to be elected to the Common Wealth Parliament. In fact, during the 1960s, women working in public services or private organizations were almost forced to resign once they got married. According to the news article published on 23rd Feb 2023 in The Guardian, the pay gap has reached an all-time low of 13.3 %. In other words, a woman professional receives 13.3 % less remuneration than her male colleague. This means a woman must work for an extra approximately 60 days to earn the same as a male colleague. Despite the narrowed gap, how far women are content with the progress is a matter to focus upon.
Photo By: Australian Unions Social Media
Therefore, I propose developing a feature news story that reflects the minds of women from varied professional backgrounds.
The gap percentage is expected to vary with respect to the industry sectors and work positions. For instance, community workers are noted to be underpaid, as traditionally, women are the main workforce in this sector.
At the same time, it has been found that there is a substantial dearth in the number of women occupying higher positions. So, my news piece will reflect perceptions of women who are nurses, teachers, and workers in industrial sectors and large corporates. The interviews would be chosen based on their job positions, varying from base to board member.
Sources
I will interview the following persons:
- Name：Associate Professor Anthea Taylor
- Associate Professor——Gender and Cultural Studies
- Email：anthea.taylor@sydney.edu.au
- Name：Dr Junyi Cai
- Sessional academic at the University of Sydney
- Contact email: yanping.zhang@sydney.edu.au
Online Data
Preferred Publication and Target Audience
This article will be published on ABC News, and as the largest mass media outlet in Australia in terms of audience, it is sure to be well received.
The target group will be Australia’s female workforce. Regardless of their position, the gender earnings gap is an issue that plagues all working women.
Multimedia, Hypertext, and Interactivity
The keywords chosen for the article include narrowed gender pay gap, gender pay gap index and male-female unequal pay.
A graph on the pay gap difference of the previous years will also be shared.
Hypertext and images will be used for this feature story. If necessary, I will edit my interview into a video.
The hypertext will help viewers get better information about the issue.
The images will be divided into two categories, one I took myself and the other obtained from free websites.
The ABC News website has sharing features, such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. that will help viewers share this feature on other social media platforms and copy the links.
In addition, the feature will be more interactive, with a short introduction and contact information of the author at the end.
Your proposal on Australia’s gender pay gap is impressive. I have some suggestions for improvement.
Firstly, it would be beneficial to include a subheading to give readers a clear idea of the specific focus or angle of your project.
Secondly, it would be helpful to provide some context as to why you chose your interviewees. For example, what unique perspective do they bring? This will help make your feature more informative and engaging for readers.
Overall, your proposal is well-structured and shows a solid understanding of the topic. It would be stronger with a few minor revisions and additional details.