Women are making some headway towards gender parity in Canadian film and TV production, but a new report says progress isnsa国际传媒檛 being shared across the board.
Both Indigenous women and women of colour are still sa国际传媒渟ignificantly underemployedsa国际传媒� in production, the non-profit organization Women in View found in an analysis of 5,000 film and TV contracts issued from 2014 to 2017.
The study looked at womensa国际传媒檚 share of key production roles sa国际传媒� writing, directing and cinematography sa国际传媒� on narrative series airing on Canadian network TV and English-language films funded by Telefilm.
Within the years examined, womensa国际传媒檚 share of those jobs increased by 11 per cent to 28 per cent.
But a much smaller 1.81 per cent of TV and film contracts went to women of colour, while Indigenous women represented a mere 0.69 per cent of those roles in the same period of time.
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The study noted that no Indigenous women worked on any of the 24 series studied in 2017.
sa国际传媒淎lthough the numbers are dreadful, they provide us with a baseline and we can work from here to improve them,sa国际传媒� said Women in View board chair Tracey Deer in a statement.
The fifth edition of the periodic sa国际传媒淲omen in View on Screensa国际传媒� report marks the first time its researchers included data on women of colour and Indigenous women.
Other findings showed that when a TV series employs a female showrunner, a position that handles both creative and management responsibilities, it tends to have a more even gender balance.
When a man held the same showrunner position, a TV series would employ 86 per cent men, according to data studied in 2017.
Gender balance also varied depending on the region of Canada.
In 2017, half of all Telefilm-funded films were directed by women in Atlantic Canada and Ontario, the report said. Quebec lagged behind other regions with less than 17 per cent of projects directed by women.
Bridging the gender gap in Canadasa国际传媒檚 film and TV industry has become a frequent conversation in the entertainment community, with numerous organizations making tangible commitments.
Last year, Telefilm Canada acknowledged sa国际传媒漚 significantsa国际传媒� gender gap in the big-budget films it backs and promised to prioritize projects of equal merit that feature female writers, directors and producers. The organization wants to reach gender parity in key film roles by 2020.
In response to Women in Viewsa国际传媒檚 2015 report on gender parity, the CBC announced in mid-2016 that women would make up at least half of all directors on sa国际传媒淢urdoch Mysteries,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淗eartland,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淭his Life,sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淏aroness Von Sketch Showsa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淲orkinsa国际传媒� Moms.sa国际传媒�
Women in View executive director Jill Golick said Canadasa国际传媒檚 production community has enough experienced women in key production roles to reach gender parity already.
sa国际传媒淏roadcasters and other employers can take the industry to 50:50 in the next two years,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭here are many qualified women, they just have to hire them.sa国际传媒�
David Friend, The Canadian Press
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