Gender Equity in Film Will Only Be Reached in 2215 in Canada, 2085 in U.K., 2041 in Germany at Current Pace: Study

A new study on the impact of gender equality policies on the international film industry shows some improvement in the representation of women in the British, German and Canadian industries, but progress is slow.

The results of the study, “Re-Framing the Picture,” were presented at the Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday. An international and multidisciplinary research team looked at the impact of gender
equity policies (GEP) across the film industries of the three countries between 2005 and 2020. The study also examined 12,000 films from 34 countries for evidence of the impact of different policies, such as diversity standards being a requirement to receive state funding.

While the report found some small numerical improvement in women and gender minorities working in the countries’ film sectors, progress the report attributed in part to new GEP policies, the results were nothing to cheer about. The ranks of key creative positions, and that of the “network elite” were still dominated by men. In Germany, on average, 74 percent of all key creative positions and 86 percent of the network elite were men. The numbers in the U.K. were 78 percent and 81 percent, respectively. In Canada, they stood at 77 percent and 82 percent.

“At the current rate of progress, gender equity, where women occupy 50 percent of key creative positions, will only be achieved in the year 2215 in Canada (i.e. in nearly 200 years), in 2085 in the U.K. (in more than 60 years), and 2041 in Germany (in more than 15 years),” the report found.

One of the report’s authors, network analysis expert Professor Deb Verhoeven of the University of Alberta, said the research underscored the need for GEP policies to address systemic issues, not just target numerical representation. “The film industries do not just need more women, but women in the right positions,” Verhoeven said.

Verhoeven pointed out that “the modest gains made by women and gender minorities have not come at the expense of men [but] have arisen as the result of an expansion of the industry rather than a displacement of men.”

The report called for more and better GEP policies with “strong accountability mechanisms, financial incentives, and the ability to actively drive industry change.”

“The task now is to mainstream policies that reach into industry practice and create accountability,” said policy analyst Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof of the University of Glasgow. “It is also clear that seeing women as ‘at fault,’ as lacking experience or confidence, is not going to bring the systemic change we need. Women need access to influential positions within the film industry, not just to the industry overall.”

You can download the full “Reframing the Picture” report here.