Logies 2024: Rebecca Gibney’s Hall of Fame speech called out Aussie TV’s sexism

Rebecca Gibney’s induction into the Logies Hall of Fame and the Women’s World Cup win are to be celebrated as historic television moments. But Aussie TV remains a boys’ club, writes Kathy McCabe.

It was the mic drop moment of the 2024 Logies.

It got lost somewhere between Sam Pang’s searing zingers, Felix Cameron’s emotional and charming acceptance speeches and the interminable drag to the crowning of Larry Emdur as the Gold Logie winner.

And it wasn’t a funny punchline; it was the shocking and infuriating closer to Rebecca Gibney’s speech, delivered with grace, as she was inducted to the Logies Hall of Fame.

As the beloved and accomplished actor wrapped her emotional, eloquent tribute to her television community and family, she paid tribute to the women who have supported in her life and career.

Rebecca Gibney was the 2024 Hall of Fame inductee. Picture: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images.

“I have been so fortunate to have been guided and supported by some incredible, visionary women on this journey, from my mother to my first agent, to the many female producers, directors, fellow actors and crew who have encouraged me behind the scenes.

“And I am very proud to be one of only four women to ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“But I know there are many more to come.”

Four women. Just four out of the 39 actors, industry workers and programs to be inducted since the Logies Hall of Fame kicked off in 1984.

The vast majority of Hall of Famers are male actors and personalities, from Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown to Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton. The long-running current affairs shows Four Corners and 60 Minutes are also in there.

It wasn’t until 2001, almost 30 years into the award’s history, that comic genius and revered actor Ruth Cracknell became the first woman to be honoured, a year before her death.

Noni Hazlehurst was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame in 2016.

Another 15 years passed before the “panel of independent industry experts” chose another worthy female recipient, respected actor and director and beloved Play School presenter Noni Hazlehurst.

The next year, in 2017, television presenting royalty Kerri-Anne Kennerley got the nod.

And now seven years later, Gibney has been acknowledged for her vast contribution to entertaining Australian audiences across four decades.

Elise Kellond-Knight, Emma Freeman, Mel McLaughlin and Lydia Williams with the Logie Award for Best Sports Coverage. Picture: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images.

The other victory for women in television at the Logies year was the deserved win of Seven’s coverage of the Matilda’s inspiring Women’s World Cup run. It was the first stand-alone women’s sport event to win the Logie for best sports coverage.

Gibney’s induction and the Women’s World Cup win are to be celebrated as historic television moments.

But as the Australian television industry reckons with rafts of allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination against women over decades of toxic workplace culture, the presence of just four female actors in their Hall of Fame is yet another indictment of how far they still have to go to get it right.

Originally published as Logies 2024: Rebecca Gibney’s Hall of Fame speech called out Aussie TV’s sexism