Gender equality, MiC report: women are severely underrepresented in filmmaking

The first annual report on gender equality in the audiovisual world, titled The Gender Question Between Imaginary and Reality and edited by theObservatory for Gender Equality , which the Ministry established internally and which took office on Nov. 24, 2021, was presented yesterday at the Collegio Romano, headquarters of the Ministry of Culture. The observatory is composed of Celeste Costantino (coordinator), Cristina Comencini (director), Cristiana Capotondi (actress), Maria Pia Calzone (actress), Eleonora Abbagnato (dancer and artistic director), Flavia Barca (expert cultural and creative sectors), Linda Laura Sabbadini (statistician), Souad Sbai (essayist), Berta Zezza (cultural communication expert), Stefano Accorsi (actor), Ricardo Levi (publishing world executive), Antonio Parente (dg MiC), Nicola Borrelli (dg MiC), Onofrio Cutaia (dg MiC), Massimo Osanna (dg MiC).

This first report focused mostly on the film and audiovisual sector. This is because, the report states, the choice “was marked by the pressing demand and marked awareness of those who work within this sector. Unlike other cultural fields, in fact, the Observatory did not have to seek out the interlocutors with whom to confront the phenomenon of gender imbalance in cinema and audiovisuals. It was the professionals and practitioners of this sector who consciously and unconsciously asked for this body to be heard.”

According to the findings of the study, in the world of film and audiovisual there is a strong gender gap (gender gap), which can be quantified: there are in fact very few women working in the industry (the ratio is one to ten, the report notes). Barely 25 percent in screenwriting, editing and production, and even fewer in cinematography, music and special effects on set (only between 10 and 16 percent). Women are in the majority only in makeup (73 percent), set design (58 percent) and costumes (82 percent). A strong underrepresentation of women in all types of television programs also stands out: the female presence reaches 40 percent only in entertainment and drama programs produced by Rai while, for example, it stops at just 15.8 percent in sports programs. The assignment of roles in films and dramas is also significant: there are 4 out of 10 so-called central or relevant roles assigned to women, but the difference becomes greater for the roles of characters over 65 when women are assigned only 25 percent of the parts on stage: a figure that, according to the Observatory, deserves attention and in-depth study. As for pay, women are paid on average less than their colleagues: a female director earns about a third less than a male colleague, a female scriptwriter about a quarter less. It should be noted that the imbalance in the last three years has increased rather than decreased.

The Observatory then notes a number of stereotypes in the parts played by women and men in films, dramas and assimilated products. Predictably, the female presence dominates over men within traditional female roles related to home and personal care (women make up 85.2 percent of the characters on stage) or the sphere of family care (65 percent) or social and psychological care (61.7 percent). A more balanced situation is found for some roles: this is the case for digital media professionals such as influencers, bloggers and the like (45.5%) or traditional media professionals such as journalists, directors, writers and the like (44.3%). In contrast, women continue to be severely underrepresented in a whole range of professional roles not only among those stereotypically considered male-dominated (engineering figure, 20.4 percent, entrepreneurship, 19.5 percent), but also in professional roles with strong female connotations (health care figures, 25.1 percent, education, 35.9 percent). Women are also underrepresented in roles related to the sphere of law (27.4 percent) and politics or public administration, where they are just 19.4 percent.

Better goes, however, at the Ministry of Culture, but “nothing is as it seems,” the Observatory points out: in fact, in the face of substantial parity in numbers, a structure is detected that, from an organizational point of view, is more rewarding for men than for women. The picture that emerged from the MiC’s Gender Equality Plan reveals that, “unlike other institutional contexts, within the Ministry there is no problem regarding women’s access to the working world and to top roles,” the report says, “indeed, there are some areas in which the female presence is even a majority. Instead, the main difficulties concern the organization of work, institutional processes, the culture of administration, and management practices. To put it another way, the MiC on the level of equal access and career opportunities represents a happy island from the institutional point of view. We are, however, in the paradoxical situation of having a context that is more than balanced in numbers between men and women within a structure that, however, is and remains male. In fact, in light of the positive data, we could have experimented with a different organization of work: part time and smart working; strengthening of welfare measures; support for work-parenting balance; training to all staff on combating gender-based violence. It has not yet been possible to program this. Let’s be clear, no one has given anything away to the women working inside MiC who are all winners of public competitions. However, this circumstance is interesting because it tells of a generally male-dominated working world in which culture is one of the anomalies for the strong female component, right from the choice of training. In fact, this figure brings back a more general and topical gender issue. In our country there are many women in the humanities and very few in scientific fields.”

MiC has a percentage of women executives corresponding to 53 percent of the total, while women hires relative to the total are 59 percent (up from 2021, when they were 56 percent). And while only 22 percent of MiC employees hold bachelor’s degrees, the percentage increases when looking at women only (26 percent).

“From the Report,” pointed out Observatory Coordinator Celeste Costantino, “comes out a condition of generalized imbalance in the various spheres with some incontrovertible data: power disparity between men and women, underrepresentation of women in cultural products, and imbalance in salaries between men and women. The Observatory’s report is a new tool to support what the Ministry of Culture has already been doing for years through its activities to support and promote the proper recognition of the role of women in the world of culture.”

For Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, “The report is an interesting tool and offers an innovative insight into the phenomenon of the gender gap in culture. We need to work to keep the focus on these issues high at all times.”

“History is full of examples of women who have made our country great with their indispensable contributions in the arts, crafts, sciences, heritage protection and literature. And that’s just to name a few examples. The problem,” undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni pointed out, “lies in the narrative that is made of them, which is insufficiently careful to give women the space and attention they deserve. We need to revolutionize the type of narrative to bring it back to reality. And it is from this perspective that we must educate the new generations. So that the women of tomorrow can express their talents in any profession. Great examples from the past, as well as from today. At the Ministry of Culture,” he added, “we have been working for years to highlight female cultural professionals and the great changes they have been able to bring about. This is the direction to follow.”

The report can be downloaded at https://www.beniculturali.it/osservatorio-per-la-parita-di-genere

Gender equality, MiC report: women are severely underrepresented in filmmaking

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