DEA, Women and the Audiovisual Sector
Person in charge: Maura Misiti maura.misiti@cnr.it
The underrepresentation of women in film belongs to the wider topic of gender equality, which involves different spheres: from the labour market as a whole, through the world of scientific research, top management positions in the private sector and women’s presence on boards of directors, to the wage gap. But it also extends to other aspects of social life, from access to funding, division of domestic roles and representation. In its report on the topic, among other things, UNESCO remembers that creativity is not gender-neutral and that the inequalities in the creative sector reflect the structural barriers present in other economic sectors and in society in general.
In the audiovisual sector, the inequalities are evident, as already highlighted by some pilot research projects, such as the one carried out by the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) EWA European Women’s Audiovisual Network_Italy_National Report:
• – 88% of Italian publicly-funded films are directed by men. Only in 12% of cases is the director a woman.
• – 79% of the films produced by the RAI (Italian Radio and Television) are directed by men. So, just 21% of films produced by the RAI have a female director.
• – 90.8% of the films that arrive in cinemas are directed by men. Films arriving in movie theatres directed by women account for less than 10% (9.2%).
So long as the film industry continues to offer stories and representations of the world from an essentially male point of view, we will remain a chauvinistic and patriarchal society. According to the Global Gender Gap report 2016, Italy ranks 127th (out of 144) with regard to equal pay at work.
The DEA report goes alongside the research by the EWA network, which has already produced important data on Italy; paths hitherto subject to little exploration will be developed during the project:
The underrepresentation of women in cinema belongs to the wider topic of gender equality, which involves different spheres: from the labour market as a whole, through the world of scientific research, top management positions in the private sector and women’s presence on boards of directors, to the wage gap. But it also extends to other aspects of social life, from access to funding, division of domestic roles and representation. In its report on the topic, among other things, UNESCO remembers that creativity is not gender-neutral and that the inequalities in the creative sector reflect the structural barriers present in other economic sectors and in society in general.
In the audiovisual sector, the inequalities are evident as already highlighted by some pilot research projects, such as the one carried out by the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA) EWA European Women’s Audiovisual Network_Italy_National Report:
• – 88% of Italian publicly-funded films are directed by men. Only in 12% of cases is the director a woman.
• – 79% of the films produced by the RAI (Italian Radio and Television) are directed by men. So, just 21% of films produced by the RAI have a female director.
• – 90.8% of the films that arrive in cinemas are directed by men. Films arriving in movie theatres directed by women account for less than 10% (9.2%).
So long as the film industry continues to offer stories and representations of the world from an essentially male point of view, we will remain a chauvinistic and patriarchal society. According to the Global Gender Gap report 2016, Italy ranks 127th (out of 144) with regard to equal pay at work.
The DEA report goes alongside the research by the EWA network which has already produced important data on Italy; paths hitherto subject to little exploration will be developed during the project.
• – Analysis of research in Europe and the world
• * Gap & Ciak report – The gender gaps in the audiovisual industry and work
• – Analysis of the data collected by professional associations
• * Database of the men/women professionals in the audiovisual world
• – Interviews on the life stories of women and men in the film and documentary sectors
• * What factors hinder the access and affirmation of female talents?
• – Recommendations to the policy makers
• * How to give women’s determination and quality a chance
•
The professional figures and genres selected for the study are:
• * Director
• * Assistant director
• * Scriptwriter
• * Adaptor
• * Producer (independent)
• Genres
• * Narrative cinema
• * Documentaries
• * Animation
- Maura Misiti, Adele Menniti, Pietro Demurtas.
• An academic committee provides consultancy, expertise and academic support, and structures and participates in divulging the results obtained in the research activities.
The committee consists of:
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- Maura Misiti IRPPS/CNR;
- Adele Menniti IRPPS/CNR;
- Mariangela Barbanente, DOC/IT;
- Stefania Casini, Vice Presidente di DOC/IT;
- Ilaria A. Depascalis, Università Roma 3;
- Jole Giannattanasio, Direzione generale Cinema- MIBACT;
- Massimo Guastini, communication consultant – copywriter & partner @ cOOkies adv;
- Andrea Marzulli, SIAE;
- Veronica Pravadelli, Università Roma 3.
• 3 research reports
• 1 policy brief containing recommendations
• Production of audiovisual material relating to the project themes
• Meetings with policy and decision makers