Gender, Participation and Inequality in the UK's film & TV costume workforce

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The UK screen industries are seeking new approaches to tackling gender inequality (see CAMEo, 2018; Cobb, 2020; Dodd, 2012; Director's UK, 2014; Follows, 2016; Wreyford, 2018). For those working in film and television production, traditional initiatives have failed to improve women's career opportunities and work experiences (Eikhof et al. 2019; ProctorThomson, 2013). Gender inequality has been evidenced in terms of career promotion, retention, recognition and pay for women workers (e.g. Banks, 2017; Connor et al. 2015; Dent, 2019; O'Brien, 2015; Wing-Fai et al., 2015 etc.) In response, this PhD aims to produce new knowledge that can inform innovative approaches to gender equality in film and television production work. This aim will be achieved by turning existing research approaches on their head. Current research focuses on the under-representation of women in film and television production (e.g. Cobb et al., 2019; Launzen, 2019; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Wreyford 2018). Instead, this project will research women-dominated screen work: the costume departments of the UK's film and television industry, which comprise approximately 73% women and 27% men (Creative Skillset, 2012: 5). With gender-unequal workforce participation in favour of women, costume departments are a promising and novel site for research.With a new empirical focus this project responds to calls for understanding gender inequality beyond workforce statistics, and for taking into account individual work and career experiences, how work is performed and reproduced, as well as the organisational and sectoral contexts that shape these experiences (Eikhof, 2017).