Women in View salutes International Women’s Day, March 8th,2010.
All around the world, countries recognize March 8th as the day to celebrate the contributions of women to society, and to draw attention to the issues facing them. The theme this year is Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities. As we know, in the media industry in Canada there is much work to be done and much to talk about along these lines. Women continue to be grossly under-represented both behind the screen, and on it. The recent study done by the BC Institute of Film Professionals (2007) found that women hold only 32% of the unionized jobs in film and television, 15% less than the general BC Labour force, and their participation strongly mimics traditional gender roles. Women are also significantly under-represented in key creative roles. Only 10% of the women listed on the DGC roster are women.
Yet there is still much to celebrate! The percentage of women rising to positions of ownership in independent production companies is on the rise. More women are moving into key positions in our private broadcasters, and of course, this year Kathryn Bigelow has a shot at breaking through and being the first to win “Best Director” at the Oscars on March 7th for her film The Hurt Locker. So as we watch the Oscar’s this year, we’ll be celebrating the amazing and talented women who are proof-positive that women can and will achieve equality in this incredible industry.
