GEP Analysis: Assessing, understanding and modelling the impact of gender equity policies (GEP) in the film industries

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Global film industries exhibit marked gender inequality: women (1) are under-represented in the workforce; (2) receive less pay and other rewards, (3) have fewer creative, managerial and financial opportunities than men; (4) are subjected to sexual harassment and bullying. This situation is problematic for individual women’s employment and careers. But it also limits quality and nature of the films made, the storytelling and screen experiences available to audiences, and opportunities and resources screen industry businesses can capitalise on. Improving gender equity in the film industries is thus important for women workers, audiences, businesses and societies.There have over the last three decades been many initiatives that tried to improve gender equity in the international film industries. But these initiatives and regulatory interventions by governments and industry stakeholders have produced minimal change. In some jurisdictions gender equity measures have in fact worsened.What is needed is a significant step-change in (1) our understanding of the causes of gender inequality, and (2) the development, design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programs designed to promote gender equity in international screen industries. GEP Analysis will provide that step-change.GEP Analysis makes an important change in the methods and concept used. Previously, research and practice focused mainly on empowering individual women. GEP Analysis will instead focus on industry norms, structures and practices: what in the organisation of the film industries, in the way production is organised and in people’s everyday behaviour constrains gender equity?With this important change of perspective, GEP Analysis will- build new and better databases that allow us to analyse women’s participation in the film industries in new ways; more comprehensively, across countries, in relation to policy interventions and national economic data- analyse how previous policy interventions were designed and how successful they were, on the basis of interviews with industry stakeholders, statistical analysis, network analysis- model, on the basis of this new data, the likely gender equity outcomes of different policy alternatives- undertake 'what works' analysis and embed these findings with the international community of film industry stakeholders.GEP Analysis will help film industries chose more effective gender equity policies and improve gender equity, to the benefit of women, the creative output, audiences and businesses. GEP Analysis will also achieve a number of methodological and conceptual innovations that will help academics deliver better research and policy recommendations in the future.GEP Analysis will be undertaken by a team of leading screen industry researchers in Canada, Germany and the UK and focuses on the film industries in these countries and their immediate international context, most notably the Eurimage footprint of Europe and Canada.