Just 16% of screenwriters in UK film are women, study finds - News Post
https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/may/23/women-in-british-film-tv-writers-guild-inequality
A study revealed women write 28% of TV episodes and make up 16% of film screenwriters.
The report commissioned by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB)gathered data for more than 10 years to identify a continuing bias and systemic gender inequality in the two industries.
The Band of Gold screenwriter Kay Mellor said the current dearth of female signature writers for British TV was “criminal”.
The WGGB report found that:
• 16% of all writers credited on at least one UK feature film between 2005-16 were female (526 out of 3,310 writers).
• 11% of films were predominantly female-written, while 21% had at least one female writer.
• 28% of all UK TV episodes between 2001-16 were predominantly female-written.
• 14% of primetime programming was predominantly female-written. The figure for morning programming is 27%.
A study revealed women write 28% of TV episodes and make up 16% of film screenwriters.
The report commissioned by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB)gathered data for more than 10 years to identify a continuing bias and systemic gender inequality in the two industries.
The Band of Gold screenwriter Kay Mellor said the current dearth of female signature writers for British TV was “criminal”.
The WGGB report found that:
• 16% of all writers credited on at least one UK feature film between 2005-16 were female (526 out of 3,310 writers).
• 11% of films were predominantly female-written, while 21% had at least one female writer.
• 28% of all UK TV episodes between 2001-16 were predominantly female-written.
• 14% of primetime programming was predominantly female-written. The figure for morning programming is 27%.
The Band of Gold screenwriter Kay Mellor said the current dearth of female signature writers for British TV was “criminal”.
The report points to evidence showing that films and TV shows written by women get a more positive critical and audience reception than those written by men. These female-penned favourites include Victoria (written by Daisy Goodwin), Call the Midwife (Heidi Thomas), and Happy Valley (Sally Wainwright).
Earlier this year, 76 writers signed an open letter of protest after ITV revealed its 2018 drama programme had one female writer and eight men.
The WGGB has launched a campaign demanding action against inequality, Equality Writes, supported by writers including Sandi Toksvig, Jack Thorne and Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti.
The report points to evidence showing that films and TV shows written by women get a more positive critical and audience reception than those written by men. These female-penned favourites include Victoria (written by Daisy Goodwin), Call the Midwife (Heidi Thomas), and Happy Valley (Sally Wainwright).
Earlier this year, 76 writers signed an open letter of protest after ITV revealed its 2018 drama programme had one female writer and eight men.
The WGGB has launched a campaign demanding action against inequality, Equality Writes, supported by writers including Sandi Toksvig, Jack Thorne and Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti.
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