She sparks the conversations others are afraid to start.
Leading Voice on Gender Equality and Media — Challenging Power, Inspiring Action.
Virginia Haussegger AM is an award-winning journalist, author and one of Australia’s most influential voices on gender equality, leadership and media.
With a career spanning more than three decades, Virginia has reported from global hotspots, led national news broadcasts and anchored flagship programs across the ABC, Seven Network and Channel Nine. For 15 years, she was the trusted face of ABC News Canberra — a clear, authoritative voice guiding audiences through Australia’s most defining moments.
Virginia’s thought-provoking commentary examining the intersections of gender, politics and power is regularly published across Australian media, including in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times. Her latest book, Unfinished Revolution: The Feminist Fightback, is a powerful and deeply personal call to action for women’s equality and collective courage.
She also hosts BroadTalk, a podcast featuring candid conversations with Australia’s most prominent female leaders about courage, influence and change.
Recognised nationally for her advocacy and leadership, Virginia was named ACT Australian of the Year (2019) and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her service to journalism and gender equity. She is President of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), Deputy Chair of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI), and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra.
A commanding and compassionate speaker, Virginia brings warmth, wit and insight to every stage. Her keynotes challenge complacency and spark action — inspiring audiences to lead with purpose, courage and conviction.
Talking Points
• Gender Equality – Reality and Resistance
Progress? Of course, we have made great progress. Yet something is wrong. The equality pendulum is beginning to swing the wrong way. Women have made great gains in leadership, in politics, and in business. In just about every industry, you can now find women experts. So what's the problem? Why are we still hearing about the 'gender gap' and why is Australia, along with every nation in the world, set to fail to meet the SDGs 2030 targets, as set by the United Nations? What are the realities about gender equality? And why is there a growing resistance to pursuing diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace and public life? These are critical challenges for every workplace and government right now. All eyes are on Australia. Will we lead, or will we follow?
• Gender Equality – Reality and Resistance
• The Politics of Power and Leadership
Who really gets to 'play the gender card' in politics? And how do they do it? Australian political leadership has seen radical change in recent years, and not all of it has been edifying to watch. Is it any wonder Australians are turning away from the news and expressing distrust in politics? But what if we start to think of power differently? What if those with the least amount of power tap into the current of 'new power', and step up? What happens to 'old power' when digitally savvy, connected collectives take control of the narrative and tell a new story? Who wins then? To unpack these questions, I will peel back the onion of old political power and demonstrate how new activism is radically changing the power paradigm and what leadership looks like.
• The Politics of Power and Leadership
Equality or mainstreaming misogyny: how did we get here?
In early 2025, the Secretary General of the United Nations made a speech on International Women's Day where he said bluntly, and somewhat alarmingly, 'Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny'. Since that statement, the global pushback against the rights of women and girls has only got worse. Online abuse of women has run rampant, along with violence against women. In some authoritarian states and dictatorial administrations, overt misogyny is now so normalised that any opposition to masculine dominance is considered 'extreme' and radical behaviour. Australia is on the precipice of what is emerging elsewhere as a dangerous form of gender wars. We need to be clear about what actions and reactions culturally fit our nation. I will examine how we got here and what options we have going forward.
Equality or mainstreaming misogyny: how did we get here?
Unfinished Revolution: The Feminist Fightback
In 1975, the fight was alive. It was the year the United Nations declared International.Unfinished Revolution: The Feminist Fightback
Women’s Year as a marker of progress and aspiration. Fifty years on, award-winning
journalist Virginia Haussegger shines a light on the feminist revolution in Australia,
capturing its spirited momentum and a fatigued lag.
She tells a fresh story of feminist action in this country, from the largest women’s protest rally – March4Justice in 2021 – to the dynamic Australian Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s. With a focus on gender and power in
politics and the media, from national consciousness raising to shifting media
In narratives, Virginia explores what social revolution and change really look like.
Media, Trust and Disinformation: fighting for truth
We are facing a crisis of truth, fact and information. Traditional news systems are collapsing, public interest journalism has become increasingly impossible to fund, and most of us have no idea where to turn for real, reliable and accurate information. The disruption to news media has been faster and more far-reaching than anyone in the business had anticipated. The rapid speed at which generative AI has overtaken and redefined news services has left most media players badly winded and wondering what to do next. The traditional models of news gathering and information sharing are completely broken. Yet no one is prepared to give up on the fight for truth. New models of information dissemination are emerging rapidly. But for news consumers and those who want to be well-informed citizens, serious questions must be asked about how much we're prepared to pay and do to keep the lights on!
Media, Trust and Disinformation: fighting for truth
Australian Women Changemakers: the secret to radical success
Australia has no shortage of exceptional women changemakers. In 2022, I guest curated an exhibition of Changemakers for MOAD and spent hundreds of hours examining how and why our trailblazers managed to buck the system, envision radical change, and create sustained reform. Their methods were as diverse and unique as the women themselves. Their stories are deeply motivating and show us all a way forward in turbulent and uncertain times
Australian Women Changemakers: the secret to radical success
The true life of 'The Newsreader' - a personal journey
Australian audiences were transfixed by the ABC TV program 'The Newsreader', showing the inside workings of 1980s television news and current affairs. The bawdy behaviour, the outright bullying, racism, and shocking levels of sexism were daily fare. I know, I was there! Back when Jana Wendt was the pin-up girl and we all wore big shoulder pads and brass buttons, I thought women would take over the world. For a while, I thought we did! In this speech, I will take you through my personal journey working across the ABC, and the heady days of Channel 9 and 7, when money and champagne flowed freely and we travelled the globe reporting wild, wacky stories one week, and the frontline of war another. I travelled this path for a couple of hectic decades and live to tell the tale. Or two! It is a story of money, power, ethics and ratings. Ultimately, it’s about winners and losers and the real story that never makes it to air.
The true life of 'The Newsreader' - a personal journey
Virginia was an exceptional speaker with a clear passion for gender equity, and a wealth of experience to deliver an engaging, powerful presentation. Virginia speaks with poise and grace and ... keep reading Department of Defence
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