‘I’ve been accused of being flirty’
EVEN just admitting to being 50 can have a seriously detrimental effect on the career aspirations of women who work in television.
But for Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh, her impending birthday in November will be accompanied by a great sense of calm that only comes with experience and contentment.
Perhaps it has something to do with landing her new job as a co-host on Nationwide, but she no longer envies other people with high-profile jobs.
“It is liberating, honestly it is,” she said.
“Do you remember a while back when these five women screen tested for the one TV show and I wasn’t even asked to contribute.
“Well there was a time when that would have really bothered me but it doesn’t now.
“There is something really liberating with being content with your own gig.
“I don’t look at any other presenter in the organisation now and think I would like to do that.
“I probably never wanted to be anyone else but over the years when you saw people getting work when you had none it would bother you.
“I do accept who I am and what I stand for, but when there have been dips in my career I wonder if I had been more of a facilitator would things have been different?
“But I am not a facilitator. I hate the word, I wasn’t one of those jumpin presenters; an obvious fit.
“As one director used to say to me, when you work with Blathnaid you get all of Blathnaid.”
When it comes to the gender pay gap and equality within the walls of Montrose, there have been few louder voices than Blathnaid’s.
Taking it one day at a time, she constantly fights for women’s rights within RTE.
Although she admits that there is still a long way to go before parity is achieved.
“I have been accused of being flirty,” she said.
“I always laugh at the word, ‘flirty’ is a damnation very often.
“I always laugh because if you have a big personality you get accused of a lot of things and you may not have even been in the room when it happens, and it happens to women.
“Homophobia is a big deal now, which it should be; racism is high up there as well but sexism is still down on the floor.
“Feminism is not a little cult that is eating away at society, it is a reaction to what is happening now.
“And there is a perception that things have equalled out now.
“People grimace when you bring it up.
“You would never say you are racist but… however you have people acknowledging a gender pay gap or sexism and doing nothing about it.
“It is like it is OK to say this is the way I was brought up and that excuses everything.
“But you have to keep fighting.”