Gender Equality in the Cultural and Creative Sectors
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« «« « « «« « ««« EUROPEAN AGENDA EUROPEAN AGENDA CULTURE FOR CULTURE PLAN FOR WORK 2019-2022 «««««««« JUNE 2021 TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE SECTORS REPORT OF THE OMC (OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION) WORKING GROUP OF MEMBER STATES’ EXPERTS ZZEBULIGARYTHICREATIVEWHYISITWORTHIVESTIGINCULTURALANDERTCGAEUROPEAN UNION - Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 © European Union, 2021 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. ISBN 978-92-76-20365-0 doi:10.2766/122208 NC-02-20-500-EN-N « «« « « «« « ««« EUROPEAN AGENDA EUROPEAN AGENDA CULTURE FOR CULTURE PLAN FOR WORK 2019-2022 «««««««« JUNE 2021 TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE SECTORS REPORT OF THE OMC (OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION) WORKING GROUP OF MEMBER STATES’ EXPERTS Editor: Amelie Menzel, European Experts’ Network on Culture Towards gender equality in the cultural and creative sectors OMC 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 Culture and gender equality 7 1.2 The work of the group 9 1.3 About this report 13 1.4 Definitions 15 2. GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CCS – A CONTEXTUALISATION 19 2.1 Then: The role of women in the history of art and culture 21 2.2 Now: Cultural and creative sectors – a major but demanding sector 27 3. IMPACT OF THE COVID CRISIS ON GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CCS 31 3.1 Gender equality and the COVID-19 pandemic 33 3.2 Good practices 36 4. THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA 39 4.1 Introduction 41 4.2 Context: The current state of data collection in the European CCS 42 4.3 The way forward 45 4.5 Good practices 48 5. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 48 5.1 Lead by example – ensure gender equality in the workplace 51 5.2 Mainstream gender equality into policies and promote it via a legal framework and funding 53 5.3 Implement gender budgeting 55 5.4 Support data collection and research 58 5.5 Use culture, media, education and research as a means to promote gender equality 59 5.6 Use the COVID crisis as an opportunity for transformative change 60 «« 5.7 Good practices on gender budgeting 61 5.8 Good practices on gender mainstreaming 62 6. KEY CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 65 6.1 Gender stereotypes 67 « 6.2 Sexual harassment 75 6.3 Equal access to the labour market and the gender pay gap 82 «« 6.4 Access to resources and the art market 92 6.5 Access to leadership and decision-making positions 102 6.6 Female entrepreneurship 111 7. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES 115 « 8. ANNEXES 119 « «« « 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS «««««« © Getty Images INTRODUCTION © Shutterstock Towards gender11 equality in the cultural and creative sectors OMC 5 «««««« “GENDER EQUALITY IS A CORE PRINCIPLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, BUT IT IS NOT YET A REALITY” PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN, MARCH 2020 ‘Gender equality is a core principle of the European Union, but it is not yet a reality.’ President Ursula von der Leyen, March 2020 6 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Culture and gender equality This report focuses on the role that culture plays in promoting gender equality and, more importantly, how to achieve gender equality within the cultural and creative sectors (CCS). The EU Member States identified gender equality for the first time as a priority for action in the Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022. Indeed, there are many reasons that this topic should receive the attention it deserves. Gender equality is a core value of the EU fundamental rights1 and a key principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights2. It is also a precondition for cultural diversity. The promotion of gender equality and the fight against gender discrimination are twin goals of the EU, including in culture. Cultural rights are human rights that apply universally, irrespective of sex or gender. They are also a precondition for the enrichment of cultural diversity and realisation of human creativity. The right to freely participate in cultural life, to enjoy the arts, and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits is enshrined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. According to Eurostat data, European women participate actively in culture to a greater extent than men. However, if we look at the specific situation and role of female artists and of female cultural professionals working in the CCS, inequalities and structural discrimination become apparent. There is an urgent need for action. It is not surprising that existing gender gaps and obstacles in the CCS exhibit striking sim- ilarities to those prevailing in other economic sectors. Although gender inequalities differ across the various sub-sectors in the cultural field and between EU Member States, overall women are confronted with similar obstacles and impediments on their career paths. They are under-represented in leadership and decision-making positions, they are generally paid much less than men, they lack equal access to creation and production resources, and their work is often less visible, underappreciated and under-recognised. Another major gender gap pertains to care work. Women are still obliged to take over the bulk of unpaid care duties and thus face more challenges in combining paid work and private life. 1.1.1 Vision and mission Gender equality is a human right and a founding principle of the European Union. In recent years, gender equality has appeared more and more frequently on political agendas, and important steps have been taken at the European level and in EU Member States to improve the overall situation for women. However, progress is slow and far from sufficient. Gender equality is essential in order for the CCS to thrive and flourish. As women make up over half of the CCS workforce, they should also represent half of the decision power, have equal access to funding and means of production, and be equally visible in these sectors. In short, they should not be systemically discriminated against. The mission of this report is to encourage work towards a gender-equal cultural area where women and men, regardless of their age, race or class and in all their diversity, have equal opportunities to develop their career pathways either as artists or cultural professionals. It is necessary to strive for equal chances and visibility as well as equal access to resources 1 See Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union for women, men and people outside of the gender binary. (TEU), Articles 8, 10, 19 and 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Articles 21 and 23 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 2 https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/f iles/social-summit-european-pillar-social- rights-booklet_en.pdf Towards gender equality in the cultural and creative sectors OMC 7 1.1.2 Role of culture for promoting gender equality Arts, culture and media, in all the richness of the cultural expressions, have a powerful and unquestioned capacity to promote tolerance, equality, diversity and social inclusion. They can be utilised to efficiently combat harmful stereotypes, change attitudes, and promote values and role models necessary for inclusive and equal societies. This transformative power needs to be used to the full. Cultural and creative expressions in all their diversity – cinema, theatre, music, visual arts and literature, to name just a few – create and present stories, perspectives and visions of the world, and as such have considerable say in shaping people’s beliefs, values and perception of reality. They are thus essential tools in promoting gender equality.3 This however happens on one condition: ensuring gender parity in the creation and content of culture. If men disproportionately control cultural production, the output will be – whether consciously or not – gender-biased. This in turn will perpetuate gender stereotypes and lead to distortions of gender relations and gender equality4. © Anna Parizi Theatre project «La Forza Nascosta» collected in the Letture Lente project 3 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. COM/2020/152 final. 4 UNESCO 2005 Convention Global report 2018, p. 194. 8 INTRODUCTION 1.2 The work of the group 1.2.1 Policy background At the European level, Member States define their priorities in the field of culture through multiannual work plans adopted in the form of conclusions by the Council of the European Union. These work plans serve as the strategic framework for cultural policy-making and propose different instruments and working methods for cultural cooperation. The current Work Plan for Culture 2019-20225 identified gender equality as one of the six priority areas of work in the field of the CCS. It was also decided that an Open Method of Coordination Working Group (OMC group) would be formed in order to examine gender-based issues related to the situation of female artists and cultural professionals in the field of culture. The timing and political momentum for the beginning of the work of the OMC group was both promising and encouraging. In autumn 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was nominated as the first female president of the European Commission and declared gender equality as one of her major priorities. She proved her credibility by forming a gender-balanced college, which included Helena Dalli as Commissioner for Equality and Inclusion.