The attendees at BVE, as with IBC, NAB and countless other broadcast tradeshows, are predominantly male, reflecting the gender imbalance in the industry. The reasons for this and how to address the issue, were examined in a panel discussion hosted by Sadie Groom, managing director of PR firm Bubble and Squeak, and board member of Women in Film and TV. Joining her were Inga Ruehl, account director, sports and news, Sky; Nicki Fisher, sales director EMEA, Clear-Com; and Delyth Thomas, director and board member, Directors UK.
Groom opened light-heartedly by acknowledging the low female footfall at BVE, there's no queue for the toilets here and you'll get into all the parties - so it's not always a bad thing! but continued: My mission is to inspire women, and promote women in this industry.
One would imagine Ruehl would know all about being outnumbered in the industry, working not only in broadcast, but in the presumably male-dominated world of sports broadcast. Not giving much away, she described her field as interesting to work in, though admitted if you work on the editorial side its much harder, there's not many women. Her experience over the past 12 years has been for large corporations and described working for Sky as insular rather than elitist and, as with any large company in the public eye, there's a lot of pressure on promoting females . Big companies have quotas which must be fulfilled, continued Ruehl, and as such the situation for women has changed over the past fifteen, twenty years, you can feel it. Even in the sports industry, she was upbeat: you're not the token female, but another female.
Ruehl's experience working with Sky put a positive spin on the discussion, as she shared her experience of first landing the job. At the time she was pregnant and only announced the fact at the end of the interview, thinking this would end her chances of getting hired. However, she was offered the job and said, not everything is great about big corporations, but as a woman, that was an amazing experience which made her loyal towards Sky and, in return, made her feel supported .
Fisher also had a positive experience of returning to work after having children, landing a role in a male-dominated area of the industry. Although she conceded, it was difficult to get back on a technical footing she triumphed, and gave the advice you have to be confident in what you do .
Groom told of the professional obstacles she faced before even having her child. Bring pregnant and still working around five years ago, about to pop , she said, her business was losing accounts. The solution to these issues? We need to educate the men in the industry that we can still do our jobs . Ruehl's advice: more women in recruitment positions, who understand the experiences - such as pregnancy - other women may have. In recruitment the more women you have in those positions the more women you have that are aware , she said. If someone's qualified it doesn't matter what they've done in the past three years. However, both these solutions - women educating men and more women in recruitment positions - still place the responsibility of addressing the problem with the women.
Not all women will leave employment to have children, and not all who have children will choose to return, so what are the other obstacles women face in the broadcast industry, and why are we still under-represented? Thomas puts it down to employment law not meeting employment practice. In big corporations like ITV, the BBC, she said you've got a really good forward thinking policy , however, this is not always acted upon and there is no monitoring on the ground .
Another problem identified by the panel was something many women admit to: lack of confidence. Groom looked back to IBC2014, when she tasked with organising a similar panel and the (male) IBC CEO took part in the panel as a result of a lack of women applying. Perhaps this is down to some inherent gender differences: Groom commented, men tend to push themselves even if they're not very good at something, whereas women will only push themselves if they know they are good at something. Ruehl admitted, I don't like public speaking though despite this when I get a chance I sign myself up and she advised, the more often you do it the easier it becomes . Knowledge is also important to confidence, as Ruehl added: I know my stuff , and Thomas said of being a director: you can only do it if you're confident - you have to know your stuff .
It seems a dual solution is needed: to engage men, while recognising the power of standing up for and alongside other women. It's about getting more women out there into panels and talking to males about these issues, said Ruehl. At the same time, building strong relationships can be invaluable. Groom highlighted the particularly popular mentor scheme run by WFTV; Fisher agreed that having a mentor is really important ; and Thomas stressed that women should talk to each other, talk to your peers .
Improvements may be slow coming, but the women on yesterday's BVE panel demonstrated that there are organisations committed to influencing change. The panel follows from a similar event at IBC, and another is scheduled for NAB in April. This is not an issue which can be solved quickly, but in the meantime, Fisher concluded with the advice work hard, have fun, and make a difference .
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
The attendees at BVE, as with IBC, NAB and countless other broadcast tradeshows, are predominantly male, reflecting the gender imbalance in the industry. The reasons for this and how to address the issue, were examined in a panel discussion hosted by Sadie Groom, managing director of PR firm Bubble and Squeak, and board member of Women in Film and TV. Joining her were Inga Ruehl, account director, sports and news, Sky; Nicki Fisher, sales director EMEA, Clear-Com; and Delyth Thomas, director and board member, Directors UK.
