Redundancies, agency mergers and takeovers, and the AI evolution are influencing the job market in Australia.
Who is most affected? Suzie Shaw, CEO of socially-led creative agency We Are Social, believes senior workers and young people in entry level roles are in the frame.
Shaw told AdNews that ageism in the industry is a ‘bomb waiting to go off.’
“As a society, we need to accommodate older people in the workforce,” Shaw said.
“The state can't support the number of people who are coming to an age where they might previously have stopped working. And our industry hasn't historically kept people into old age.
“Increasingly, as we do live longer, we need to accommodate older people in the industry. And I don't think we are doing enough to foster an environment where age is valued.
“Our industry is undergoing some real structural changes, where we're having to deliver a level of efficiency, pace and scale.
“Older people with more experience, tend to cost more, so it might be seen as an opportunity to be made redundant.”
The average age of an industry individual is 32.7 years, according to MFA’s 2024 Media Communication Industry Census.
Women now take 64% of the space in the industry, averaging at 7.9 years of experience.
“There has been and is continuing to be really good progress made from a gender equity perspective, both in terms of women in leadership, business and in the industry generally,” Shaw said.
“It enables everyone, males and females, to see that women can be great leaders. There’s so much evidence on the power and benefits of female leadership.
“It has also required males to learn to adapt to a female led culture.”
In the face of AI, companies are now using its benefits to manage entry-level tasks, requiring less human-drive and creating efficiency.
As mid-level experience takes the reins, Shaw believes that young people will be affected.
“I see great benefit in age and what it can offer to an employer experience, but I feel really anxious for young people in the face of AI, I think there is an existential threat to the future of employment,” she said.
“What we're seeing is that people who are going to be most impacted in the short term of AI gains is young people who don't have a lot of experience.
“Previously, industries and employers would support their development by sponsoring them to learn their craft.
"What we're looking at now is more junior roles and tasks are being undertaken in a large part by AI.
“I would like to see governments and legislators thinking a bit more mindfully and morally.
“We are a society where we want everyone to have a role, be engaged and employed. How do we ensure that? How do we design that so we're not further polarising opportunity?”
Shaw said that as different people learn in different ways, we need to think about how to equip our entire workforce and prospective workforce to be able to use and make best use of technology.
“AI evolution, or whatever it will come to be called, will change what sort of jobs exist, how we do them, and almost certainly our entire society.
"I’d love to see futurists focusing on how we make sure humanity prospers in this new future.
“How do we equip our constituency for a prosperous future, rather than just leaving it up to employers?
"Because if you're not employed, are you being left behind, or if you're currently in a role that may be diminishing in relevance or becoming redundant, who is responsible for equipping Citizens for a good future?"
Shaw believes that the right support, opportunities and mentorship can drive ambition for women and men in the workforce.
“I think mentorship can be a very powerful thing, so looking for opportunities to mentor females and ensure that level of ambition.
“People will talk about gender equity, but part of what gets you there is ambition, grit and drive, and if you don't have those things, you can’t blame anyone else.
“Having a big job demands a lot of you. There is no big job that doesn't require you to commit to giving a lot, that's non-negotiable.
“You’ve got to go for it, and you've got to give it. That comes from both wanting it and delivering to get it.
“The other thing is creating more awareness and mindfulness around the differences in cultures where females thrive and making sure that we're doing what we can to create the conditions for them to be seen, heard and comfortable in positions of leadership.”
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