Women remain strongly underrepresented in the contract film business
This year’s Edi. nominations were—once again—dominated by men, as a survey by SWAN shows. In creative roles, women account for barely 10% of the nominees: 0 female cinematographers, 3 female editors, and a single female director—though she is part of a directing duo.
In 2020, the Swiss Women's Audiovisual Network SWAN took the first stock of the representation of women in Swiss commissioned films. The results were sobering: on average, only 4 percent of the nominees in creative positions were female.
In 2021, unfortunately, the situation does not look any better: Also this year were at the 21st Edi. less than 10 percent of nominees in creative positions are women. Only among producers is there an overall ratio of 50/50. However, when the numbers are broken down by category, it is noticeable that in Commercials - the category with the highest budgets and greatest reach - the ratio of women in production drops from 50% or higher to 33%. In creative positions, the female quota in Commercial drops as low as 0%. This is a trend that is already known from the feature and documentary film sector: the Gender Map 2021 of the Federal Office of Culture has shown that women are more likely to be requested for smaller films with sensitive themes, while the large feature film budgets go to men. A thesis that is also evident in commissioned films: The higher the budget, the lower the proportion of women.
Disadvantage on several levels
According to SWAN, female discrimination behind the camera brings with it various disadvantages. Not only for women but also for companies and society as a whole: "The images we see in advertising convey an image of the society we live in. When this image is predominantly shaped by the view of male actors, sexism, biased stereotypes and misrepresentations of marginalized groups in society and minorities are largely perpetuated," says producer and SWAN co-president ad interim Azra Djurdjevic.
The disadvantages are also economic: 50 percent of film and design graduates are female. However, the proportion of women in the corresponding occupational fields is falling significantly. If people are educated and trained but not given the opportunity to work, trained talents remain unused. Furthermore, women make up 51 percent of the Swiss population and are behind 53 percent of purchasing decisions. Adequately addressing this target group would therefore also have to be in the interests of companies.
SWAN wants to further sensitize the industry
How can the existing imbalance be counteracted? Azra Djurdjevic elaborates: "At SWAN, we see several steps to achieve change. These include raising awareness in the industry, collecting data, promoting the visibility of female filmmakers, and countering unconscious bias."
As a first step in this direction, SWAN launched the first database for female filmmakers in Switzerland in January (Werbewoche.ch reported). In 2022, further data surveys and a campaign on unconscious bias are planned. In addition, SWAN intends to continue and seek dialog with production companies, agencies and customers in order to further raise awareness of the issue.
