PODCAST

ANNOYINGLY UNSAID

THE CONCEPT

A podcast where we discuss, usually with reasonably qualified friends, those little and not so little ‘isms’ that we’re all aware exist in our lives but not enough people are talking about. But what do we mean by that?

I wanted to provide a platform to talk about those elephant in the room, invisible barriers that many of us face in the professional world (and let’s face it) that have a tendency to permeate throughout our regular world. It’s for those of us who aren’t sure if the utter slog of our professional lives is normal and also for those, who maybe don’t feel the struggle, but want to understand the plight of those who do.

I – Bek Agius, am your host and I chat to a range of guests with experience in all things professional and human to talk about our shared experience navigating uncomfortable situations and occasionally, wax lyrical about how we'd change things if we could.

  • This episode provides context for the whole podcast concept and some background on the host: me.

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  • The Glass Cliff represents departments or entire organisations headed for seemingly unavoidable ruin who, at the 18th hour, will hand a woman the reins to dig them out. We talk with Bridie Easton, VP of Customer & Operations at Ortto about the realities of the Glass Cliff.

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  • In this episode, we talk with Founder / CEO of Tide Productions and mum of 2, Lauren Panrucker about what it actually means to be a female CEO. We talk about the balancing act of kindness and firmness, mistakes made, a phenomenon we're labelling corporate reparenting and look at her journey to 10 years in business.

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  • In Part 1 of The Hidden Career Costs of Motherhood with ⁠Yasmin Quemard⁠ from Havas People, we lay the foundations for understanding the “motherhood penalty” — a lifetime earnings gap that starts even before our children are born, as women choose flexibility over ambition.

    We explore how career peaks collide with the dreaded biological clock, creating impossible trade-offs, and how pay inequities and workplace culture often reward social capital over talent.

    The discussion highlights systemic barriers like biassed hiring, overwork expectations, and opaque maternity policies that trap women in roles, while also showing how unsupportive cultures undermine even the best policies.

    The key insight: financial, emotional, and creative costs are baked into a system not designed to support mothers and change requires more than policy tweaks.

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  • In Part 2, we continue exploring the hidden career costs of motherhood by looking at how women’s trajectories compare to their male peers, often falling behind despite equal or greater talent. We unpack how systems of recognition, like awards and judging panels, are biased and fuel imposter syndrome, while agencies still fall short on equity in pay, parental leave, and everyday culture.

    This conversation reframes this as not just a women’s issue, but a human one — with costs felt by men, families, and the quality of creative work. We highlight motherhood as a superpower that brings empathy, resilience, and unmatched productivity, yet remains undervalued in professional spaces.

    Finally, we talk about the importance of normalising career pauses for parenting and the empowering advice we’d give our younger selves: stop apologising, own your ideas, and trust the value of your lived experience.

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  • In this episode of Annoyingly Unsaid, I’ll be chatting with Susann Kovacs, Senior Video Producer at The Courier-Mail about what it means to hold onto your ambition while raising a child with a disability. It’s a conversation about identity, resilience, and the quiet determination it takes to keep your career moving forward while caring for someone who needs you most.

    Together we explore the point where career and caregiving meet — the diagnosis, the day-to-day realities, the support systems that help, and what needs to change so carers can thrive at work, not just survive.

Guests

  • Bek Agius (host)

  • Bridie Easton (ORTTO)

  • Lauren Panrucker (TIDE productions)

  • Yasmin Quemard (Havas People)

  • SUSANN KOVACS (NEWSCORP)