Women in Media is coming back in its fourth year bigger and better than ever, with the inaugural forum and another cracker of an awards night.

And this year, our fabulous MC will be none other than Gretel Killeen, a strong and passionate advocate for equal rights in the workplace and beyond – the perfect host for our celebration of female accomplishments.

Killeen sat down with B&T to talk about why she was all aboard the Women in Media train and why she’s so passionate about the cause.

“It’s amazing that after all these years of activism for women in the work place and feminism in general we still have the need to consciously encourage and promote women,” Killeen told us. “But we do still have the need and so I’m very happy to do it.

“Compared however to even when I first started working, women have come a long way. Most women my age and older experienced tremendous gender based obstacles in the work place, in fact, gender prejudice was so all pervasive that it was simply considered to be the norm and rarely questioned.

“But the path to equality has been forged now and I think it’s really important to acknowledge the women who’ve helped to do that. They’ve created the possibility for it to be far, far better in the future for young women in the industry.

“I’m sure the current young generation of women will be reaping the rewards of the hard work that’s been done by generations before them and I think it would be great if they could therefore take on the mantle of helping everyone to achieve equal rights.

Killeen does believe that we’re on the right track, and she’s confident that through events like Women in Media, it’s possible to make a difference.

“Girls and boys are more educated in terms of what’s acceptable and I really think we are seeing a big difference. But it takes vigilance,” Killeen said.

“The generation I grew up with was very different. A lot of our ideas were disregarded, and a lot of us were disregarded as well. Now, I think girls know their value and can demand to be well treated in every way.

“One of the great things also is all of the networking available for girls now; there’s so much more of a conversation now about how to do things and so much more information.

“None of that existed before – you simply turned up and did your job. You weren’t allowed to be emotional, and it was a classic case of women having to work twice as hard, if not harder, than a man.

“So having events like this awards night giving accolades to women is terrific and I believe shows the tide is changing. Who knows, the generation after this might have to introduce ‘Men’s Awards’.”

B&T’s Women in Media will light up the Randwick Racecourse on August 19, with a smashing line-up at the daytime forum and fabulous awards in the evening. To enter click here and make sure you grab your tickets here.