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ABC radio's chief, Ben Latimer, says "there is always more to do" on diversity after Chris Bath was replaced with a male presenter on ABC Sydney, leaving the station with an all-male lineup from Breakfast through to Drive in 2026.
Bath, who announced her resignation after only one year on Monday, will be replaced by Thomas Oriti in the key Drive slot, which was vacated by the veteran broadcaster Richard Glover after 26 years.
A popular television personality, Bath was a big hire for the ABC, which needed a well-known presenter to replace Glover. Her short tenure has surprised the audience.
Announcing her departure on Monday, Bath said she was stepping down from Drive "to pursue some passion projects and different opportunities away from the news cycle that have been beckoning for years".
Guardian Australia understands Bath had also raised concerns about the production support she was given for three hours of live radio. Bath declined to comment.
Internally, staff are shocked at the dearth of female presenters on the key station, in particular in the wake of the angry reaction last year from listeners and staff when Sarah Macdonald was dumped from Mornings and replaced by Hamish Macdonald.
The flagship Sydney local radio roster is now made up of Craig Reucassel on Breakfast, Macdonald on Mornings, James O'Loughlin and James Valentine on Afternoons and Oriti on Drive. Valentine has been on sick leave since June and Kathryn Robinson has been filling in.
Latimer, who was elevated to the executive when he was made director of audio last year, told Guardian Australia women "continue to play a central and high-profile role across the ABC's audio services" and he listed women who presented on the other networks, including the Radio National presenters Sally Sara on RN Breakfast and Sabra Lane on AM.
"At the same time, we recognise there is always more to do," he said. "Our aspiration is continual improvement, so our presenters, stories and line-ups reflect the full diversity of the Australian communities we serve."
Latimer said Bath had "made a personal decision about the demands of daily radio and the balance she wanted in her life".
"We fully support her choice, and we're delighted she's continuing as part of the 702 team on Sundays," he said.
The journalist and academic Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, a professional fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, said she was shocked by the all-male lineup.
"The ABC, while it continues to pursue its various diversity objectives, has completely forgotten about half the population," Vatsikopoulos said.
"Well, here was a spot to bring back the popular and much-loved Sarah Macdonald ... or dare I say Antoinette Lattouf.
"This is yet another own goal for the ABC. Some deep strategic thinking is required in ABC radio management. Maybe there are just too many men in their top ranks."
Women make up 55.8% of the ABC's workforce, according to the ABC's Diversity & Inclusion annual report.
"The ABC has achieved gender parity in its executive group, with 57.1% of executive positions being held by women," the report says. "This is against a target of 50%.
"The ABC has also increased the representation of women technologists to 27.2% from 24.5% since August 2023, achieving its 2026 target of 25%."
But there is a gender pay gap at the ABC, with men paid nearly 10% more than women, according to the latest commonwealth data.
Sources who were not authorised to speak publicly said ABC local radio is chronically under-resourced and presenters are hampered by a casualised workforce, with producers on short-term contracts coming and going. There are no dedicated panel operators and little technical support.
The former 7pm ABC News presenter Juanita Phillips has posted on social media that the ABC has an "entrenched culture".
"The disappearance of smart, capable women over 50 from ABC screens and airwaves has been happening for many years," she said.
"I tried to motivate management to take real action on that three years ago (before I disappeared myself) but it's an entrenched culture."
The New South Wales Greens upper house MP Cate Faehrmann said on social media that the ABC "cannot be serious" about replacing Bath with a man.
"This is not 1982," she said on Threads. "This is not one of the blokey shock jock commercial stations that we perhaps expect this type of programming from. This is our public broadcaster that should know better."
Oriti, the host of the national breakfast program on ABC NewsRadio and Background Briefing on ABC Radio National, is an experienced presenter and has been a senior reporter across the ABC's flagship current affairs programs.
Bath will remain at the ABC hosting a Sunday morning show broadcast across NSW.