Mairéad Ronan has opened up about how the industry is very “male-dominated”, despite the undeniable need for a female presence.
The TV star, who works as a producer for The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM, spends most of her day working with huge male voices, including Ian and Mario Rosenstock.
While Mairéad admitted that radio, and indeed TV, is grossly dominated by men, she told how it’s the women behind the scenes that make it all work.
“It’s true that air time is mostly male-dominated but you’ll find it’s mainly women behind the scenes, oiling the machine,” she told the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine.
Women rule: Mairéad says females dominate behind the scenes | VIPIRELAND.COM
“The head of RTÉ is female, the head of Communicorp, that owns most radio stations in Ireland, is female, my boss is a woman, the producer of The Anton Savage Show is a woman.”
When asked if she thinks women are better at getting the job done, she said, “I think we are. Don’t get me wrong, we are great entertainers, too, but I think our attention to detail is better and sometimes.”
The 36-year-old also told how the public can be so much harsher towards women on both TV and radio.
“Hilary Clinton’s clothing was constantly being remarked upon, whereas it was never about what Donald Trump was wearing. I’m addicted to Gogglebox, just the other night these women were commenting on Claire Byrne’s figure. You’d never hear them do that to Pat Kenny,” she said.
Imposter Syndrome: Mairéad was riddled with self-doubt up until two years ago | VIPIRELAND.COM
Opening up, the producer admitted that she was plagued by self-doubt up until two years ago, as going from a coffee maker to producer of The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, with TV appearances in between, gave her imposter syndrome.
“I was riddled with self-doubt up to two years ago. I remember sitting in a hairdresser’s and reading this article about a woman who claimed she had imposter syndrome and thinking ‘that’s me’.
“That, at any moment, someone was going to come up to me and say, ‘You’ve been caught out, you’re not as good as you said you were, or we thought you were. Please clear out your desk and leave.’ I’m confident now, but years ago, I didn’t take risks or chances because I was too afraid to rock the boat,” she added.
