The Seven Network has faced an enormous online backlash following the ABC’s 7.30 story about the Seven Network cadet dismissed soon after making a complaint about sexual harassment.

On Tuesday Seven admitted its handling of its meeting with the cadet could have been better.

7.30 aired an audio recording of the meeting between Seven cadet Amy Taeuber and Seven management where she was accused of bullying and suspended from work.

The audience response was swift.

https://twitter.com/nathanbell1ml/status/912511759411318785

Ok @Channel7 I've read what u said but, lets go back to the beginning. Did u bother to investigate Amy's complaint?#abc730 @samanthamaiden

— Alison. Vote YES 😷🐩☯️ 💉💉💉 (@alisonsbread) September 26, 2017

On Tuesday afternoon Seven’s share price dropped three cents to 66 cents.

“It’s barely even worth a billion dollars now, the whole company,” shareholder activist Stephen Mayne said.

“They bought Channel Seven and the magazine business for $4 billion only five or six years ago.

“It’s been a financial disaster for the shareholders and the culture is clearly, clearly quite toxic, particularly on these gender issues.”

A number of current and former Seven Network staff have contacted 7.30 to say they’ve had similar experiences to Ms Taeuber.

They refused to speak publicly, saying it was too hard to take on an organisation like Seven.

Boys’ club a ‘particularly Australian phenomenon’

Sam Mostyn, the AFL’s first female commissioner, served on the board of the Sydney Swans with Seven’s CEO Tim Worner and is an outspoken advocate for gender equity at the top of the corporate tree.

“Increasingly, whether through shareholders or through customer-buying decisions, we’re seeing the public making a decision about the companies they want to support and if we just look at the investor point of view, this is where we’ll see the big changes,” she said.

“It’s been a particularly Australian phenomenon, I think, the boys’ club. Those with privilege can’t see it. It’s invisible to them. And so the more we break down those organisations that have a lot of privilege held by one gender, the greater the chance we have to build really great organisations that value the talent and potential of everyone.”

The Australian Institute of Company Directors released a report on Tuesday finding Seven West Media was one of 64 of the 200 top companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with only one woman on their boards.

Former board member and corporate lawyer Sheila McGregor resigned from Seven’s board earlier this year during its handling of the Amber Harrison affair with Mr Worner.

“I think both where young people, men and women, look up to their executives to the board and see, for example, no Asian faces or no women, the message to them is, ‘I probably don’t fit in here and I can, I need to move to make my career somewhere else’,” Ms McGregor told 7.30.

“The board and the executive are really crucial in setting the tone, the culture of the organisation. Not just setting it, but enforcing it when something goes wrong.”

Seven says story ‘neither accurate nor balanced’

Seven issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

“The program broadcast on 7.30 on Monday night … was neither accurate nor balanced,” the statement read.

“Amy was not sacked because she made a complaint.

“The termination of employment was made pursuant to a breach of contract. This did not occur during the recorded conversation broadcast by the ABC last night, but many weeks afterwards following meetings and discussions when the former employee was represented by two successive firms of lawyers and the union.

“There is no doubt the initial meeting could have been handled better.”

– ABC