‘Gender Equality in British Film-making: Research, Targets, Change’

Cobb, Shelley and Williams, Linda R (2020) ‘Gender Equality in British Film-making: Research, Targets, Change’. In, Liddy, Susan (ed.) Women in the International Film Industry. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 97-110. (doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39070-9_6).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

In October 2017, the British Film Institute declared that it would commit to specific targets for gender equality and diversity in key production roles on films with support from the Film Fund. This decision by the BFI to set targets, arguably, did not come just from their own diversity and inclusion goals. Activist film-makers had previously called for targets for the Film Fund, especially for women directors. This chapter will give an accounting of the current state of gender (in)equality in the UK industry by: outlining new research that has clarified the stagnant inequality in the UK film industry; articulating the key role of a network of activist groups (that include researchers, professional and campaigning bodies, exhibitors and film-makers) to bring attention to the problem; putting pressure on the film industry and public bodies; and summarising institutional responses to that pressure since 2016, with a critical analysis of the potential and limits of the BFI’s relatively recently implemented diversity and equality targets.

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