In this episode, Alicia Vrajlal from Missing Perspectives sits down with legendary journalist and gender equality advocate Virginia Haussegger AM to trace 50 years of feminist fight, backlash and unfinished business in Australia – and to ask where the “feminist epicentre” is now.
From her decades on ABC, Nine and Seven and 15 years behind the ABC Canberra news desk, to walking away to found the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation and create the award-winning Broad Talk podcast, Virginia reflects on what it means to challenge who holds the microphone in this country, and what it cost.
Together, Alicia and Virginia unpack the story behind Virginia’s new book Unfinished Revolution: how it began as a manuscript about women’s rage post-#MeToo, and evolved into a sweeping account of Australia’s consciousness-raising moment in 2021 – from Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins, Chanel Contos and Saxon Mullins, to the March 4 Justice rallies that drew more than 100,000 people into the streets. Virginia also shares the hidden history of radical feminist Elizabeth Reid, Australia’s forgotten “feminist rock star” on the world stage, and why documenting her legacy felt urgent (trust us, it's a great story).
They also get candid about how the media’s treatment of women has shifted – and the women journalists who forced that change; how intersectional feminism and digital-native activism have transformed the movement; the backlash to “new media” at Budget lock-up, and why bringing creators into Parliament matters for democracy; and what still gives Virginia hope that equality is possible, even in a global moment of backlash.
Unfinished Revolution is out now in major bookstores. This episode was sponsored by NewSouth Publishing.
