Gender equality, a huge issue in the Australian screen industry
As the world celebrates the International Women’s Day and Australian screen professionals such as Jan Chapman, Liz Watts and Mandy Walker continue to succeed globally, it would seem that gender imbalance is a thing of the past. However, Georgina Pearson sat down with Women in Film and Television’s (WIFT) program director Ana Tiwary, who explained that gender equality is not only a huge issue today, but in fact the number of women in the industry is actually decreasing.
How many members do you have?
Women in Film and Television NSW has several hundred members and thousands of industry practitioners in our network. WIFT NSW is very inclusive and we have quite a few male members and continue to encourage more men to join and support us. We are thrilled that almost 30 percent of our mentors are men and we also have men on our mentorship advisory panel. Many men understand the problems faced by women in the screen industry and have seen their mother, wife, sisters or daughters struggle to break the ‘celluloid ceiling’.
I frequently meet men who are baffled by the lack of women in certain specialised fields and want to help bring about change but just don’t know where to start. WIFT NSW provides a professional yet friendly platform for men and women to come together and help bring about gender equality in a proactive and meaningful way. Our membership has grown exponentially over the past three years, and we hope to continue to make WIFT ever more relevant, inclusive and adaptive to the changing needs of women as well as the screen industry in Australia. A membership run, non-profit organisation, WIFT NSW was first established in 1982 and is one of the 40 chapters of WIFT International.
What a truly extensive and educational read. I really enjoyed it. Well presented content and facts Ana Tiwary. Thankyou 🙂
Its not only in film industry but discrimination is every where. wemen work much harder than men and they are no less intelligent but when it comes to dicision makeing it men.
Even in Indian cinema women do not play leading roles . They always play supportive roles. They are not shown in To real jobs rather they are used sex symble. Journey has just started for women it will take time to get to the point may be it will take generations.
Really informative interview, We need more people like Ana Tiwary talking about and doing something about the lack of representation of women and the lack of cultural diversityin the Australian performing arts sector. Thanks Ana!
Ana, as a film student and a woman, I say THANK YOU. The world would be a better place if there were more people (men and woman) as fearless as you are to challenge these myths about woman. I am one of the women who lives and dreams to tell new stories. It is heart breaking to hear that some women give up their dreams because of lack of support. Thank you, for doing what others have been scared to do, pointing out the issues affecting the industry and suggesting solutions instead of going along with it. On behalf of women all over the world, I say THANK YOU!
Very insightful read. Sexism is at its worst in the advertising industry. Being trained in a particular role is a great pathway, but we also need more women running the media companies and agencies so we can look at things from a different perspectives and enable women to reach their full potential. Thanks for your in-depth conversation Ana
Except in the Art Department…nothing but women, usually screaming at each other…OUCH!!
There are far more sides to this issue than is presented here. If women aren’t represented equally in tv, then maybe it’s because those who do make it into power are so threatened by other talented women, they knock them down. In many ways, they only have themselves to blame. And the boys club in tv is populated by many, many women. I have seen this happen time and time again in my 22 year career and it’s getting worse.
Most of the crimes against female characters in tv drama have been committed by women. Neighbours, Rescue special ops, Rush, Cops LAC, Offspring etc are totally mysogynist shows, and yet it’s women pulling the strings. The makers’ attitudes to their own gender comes out in their onscreen characters.
If we want women to thrive on camera and behind it, then let’s stop being so academic about it. All we have to do is stop this strange self hating catch 22.
Such a great inside look at the industry in Australia, but I’m puzzled how firstly the misrepresentation of feminism is acknowledged as a systematic issue:
you said:
” * a lack of education and awareness of women’s issues. The history, politics and sociology of gender inequality and feminist theory is not being taught at most film schools. Feminism is viewed as a scary and crazy fanatic movement and as an attack on men. In reality feminism is just an innocent word to describe the specific human rights & equality efforts made to improve the status of women in the world”
but then under the ‘Any other comments’ section, you said:
“That I am passionate about equality but I am not a feminist. This is because I would care as much if men were being treated unfairly in the industry. I am extremely grateful to the feminist movement that has made it possible for me to even dream of being a filmmaker but I do not see the world as a male vs female power struggle. I love diverse point of views and genuinely believe that the screen industry will benefit by bringing about a balance in the male and female perspectives by putting some simple steps in place”
This rationale for ‘not being a feminist’ seems to imply that feminism is ok about oppression as long as it is not women who are being oppressed, not so. Feminist theory and activism is not about reversing the inequality so that women oppress men – this is a myth.
When I read this article what I see is a very clear and insightful analysis informed by feminist theory. To then read, ‘but I am not a feminist” seems so very, very strange. Is it just too big a risk, does it make women a target, if they proudly identify their position as being a feminist one?
Hi Ana,
That certainly was a good read. Just wondering what would happen if there was a “MEN IN FILM AND TELEVISIONS PROGRAM”?
Anyway, I’m all for equal rights to all. To be honest I like hiring women in HOD positions but I wouldn’t say that I would hire a woman over a man based on their gender. I believe in hiring those people that share the same passion to the story as I do.
I do sometimes wonder how far political correctness will go though… damned if you do damned if you dont. We live in such a different World now. I say Equal rights to all race, gender or demographic..
Again Ana, good article.
Good question, Matt Norton. What WOULD happen if there was a Men In Film and Television guild? I’m trying to imagine what they would actually do, because I’m pretty sure men have it pretty sweet as things are. WIFT exists because we need it; give me one good reason why we need a MIFT and I’ll join that too.
But to take your question as it was probably intended, it feels like you are implying that WIFT is a women’s club and ‘why should only women have clubs?’ The number of times Ana emphasized the role that men play in WIFT was overwhelming to me, but now I can see that that point really does have to be made a hundred times to be heard.
I agree with Ryl; reading the “I am not a feminist” turned my smile into a frown. It is so disheartening to hear many women talk the feminist talk but refuse to wear the word with pride. Ana, if you’re not a feminist then feminism must be dead.
Anyway, I just want to really say thank you to everyone at WIFT for talking about women’s struggles in the FTV industries and I hope your voices will grow loud enough to give others the courage to speak up too.
Ruth Harley, Fiona Cameron and Martha Coleman at Screen Australia, thats a lot of female influence…..I think you’ll find Film Victoria is heavily stacked with women as well. How much gender equality do you want…every production I work on, I’d say 70% of the crew has been women. The major state film festivals…all the heads are women. So you know its all relative.