ANITA COBBY

WOMEN IN BUSINESS
WWW.WSBA.COM.AU
Screen Australia sets minimum targets for female-led projects
Reel action on gender
IMBALANCE
By Lisa French
Deputy Dean, School of Media
and Communication, RMIT
University, RMIT University
SCREEN Australia has announced a A$5
million plan called Gender Matters, a
three-year suite of initiatives aimed at addressing
gender imbalances in the Australian
film industry.
In order to attract funding, projects
must have at least three of their four key
creative roles – director, writer, producer
and protagonist – occupied by a woman.
This plan follows a string of initiatives
aimed at addressing gender
diversity from within the Australian
film industry.
In the past month, Screen NSW
set targets for 50/50 gender equity
for development and production
funding by 2020; Film Victoria
announced a A$50K partnership
with the Natalie Miller Fellowship
to advance the careers/leadership
roles of women in the screen industry;
and the Australian Director’s
Guild has proposed quotas of 50%
for directors getting Screen Australia
funding.
Women are a vital and underappreciated
part of Australia’s film industry. If Screen
Australia can follow through on these targets,
we might see real change in a stubbornly
persistent gender imbalance.
Best in show: why gender matters
The industry has been slow to acknowledge
the low participation of women, that
they get paid less, and that they are a minority
across key creative fields.
And more significantly, there has been no
acknowledgement that not only are women
not increasing their participation – but in
some areas it is declining. In 1992, women
were 18% of directors of feature films; today
they are only 16%.
One reason this issue has been slow to attract
attention is that Australian women punch
well above their weight in the film industry.
The presence of highly successful women
makes the industry look more representative
than it actually is.
According to my research of the AFI (now
AACTA) feature film categories between
2000 and 2010, women won Best Film 80% of
the time, Best Direction 40% of the time and
Best Original Screenplay 50% of the time.
In that period, women made up, respectively,
33%, 18% and 20% of the workforce in
those
categories.
The Dressmaker.
Courtesy of
Universal Pictures.
The strong performance
of women illustrates the business
case for drawing more women
into the industry. Promoting the work of
women also promotes innovation and diversity
in the stories that are reaching our screens.
It is becoming difficult to ignore that
audiences are flocking to the cinemas to see
films such as The Dressmaker (2015), or to
the small screen to see female-centred Australian
shows such as Puberty Blues (2012),
Wentworth (2013-), Paper Giants: The Birth
of Cleo (2011).
Shows made by female creatives have also
made an impact, such as Miss Fisher’s Murder
Mysteries (2012–), created by Deb Cox and
Fiona Eagger, and Offspring (2010–), created
by Debra Oswald, John Edwards and Imogen
Banks.
Scene from The
Dressmaker.
Quotas or targets?
Senior leadership at Screen
Australia has been very firm
in saying these initiatives
are targets, not quotas. The
operative difference is that a
target is optional and a quota
is mandatory.
The issue of quotas is
complex, but many, including
myself, believe quotas (and affirmative
action) are necessary
to get some change.
However, some women
are ambivalent about them
and it does mean they
have to deal with perceptions
that they got
an unfair
leg-up.
Quotas
can be
seen as
divisive, at at a
time when everyone, men
and women, should be working together to
get the best possible industry.
Setting targets, with firm plans on how
to achieve them, may counterbalance the
perceived drawbacks of quotas.
It’s worth noting that a comparable situation
has played out in the political arena: in
1994 the ALP adopted a quota system, which
Howard rejected as “patronising women”. Today,
the ALP has around twice as many female
“
It’s worth noting that a
comparable situation
has played
out in the
political
arena:
in 1994 the ALP
adopted a quota
system, which Howard
rejected as patronising
women. Today, the ALP
has around twice as many
female MPs as the Liberal
party.”
MPs as the Liberal party.
Ultimately, whether you
call it a target or a quota, the
key will be strong leadership, and
a commitment from Screen Australia
to integrate this policy into every level of
their funding policies.
We know that dedicated resources for underrepresented
populations can have a highly
positive results: Indigenous filmmaking funds
spurred a whole generation of filmmakers
who produced some of the most vibrant work
Australia had seen for decades.
This is long overdue action from the industry,
but is likely to make a significant positive
impact on its success – and I commend the
industry for putting gender on the agenda.
T HIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED AT WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM.AU
You deserve a Clear Complexion
Whether you have a major skin condition or
an on-going problem, we have the expertise,
latest technology and medical grade skin care
to address a range of skin conditions.
So book an appointment at any Clear
Complexions Clinics for an initial skin
consultation and we can help determine
the best treatment for your skin.
What do we treat?
· Sun damage
· Facial capillaries
· Scarring
· Under eye
rejuvenation
· Large pores
· Rosacea
· Skin tags
· Cherry angioma
· Skin pigmentation
· Acne
· Wrinkles
· Dull, tired
looking skin
· Unwanted hair
· Milia
· Leg veins
· Hair loss
Suzie Hoitink,
Registered Nurse
Founder of the Clear
Complexions Clinics
Associate Member of
the ACCS & ACSM
Norwest Unit 125, Level 1, 14-16 Lexington Dr, Bella Vista | T 02 8960 7480
Balmain 2A Rowntree St | T 02 9555 7287
clearcomplexions.com.au
34 WESTERN SYDNEY BUSINESS ACCESS JANUARY 2016