Scoping Study into the Lack of Women Screenwriters in the UK A report presented to the UK Film Council Scoping Study into the Lack of Women Screenwriters in the UK A report presented to the UK Film Council Alice Sinclair Emma Pollard Helen Wolfe Prepared for UK Film Council by: INSTITUTE FOR EMPLOYMENT STUDIES Mantell Building University of Sussex Falmer Brighton BN1 9RF UK Tel. + 44 (0) 1273 686751 Fax + 44 (0) 1273 690430 http://www.employment‐studies.co.uk Copyright © 2006 UK Film Council No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form by any means— graphic, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or retrieval systems—without prior permission in writing from the UK Film Council. Foreword from the UK Film Council On behalf of the UK Film Council, I am pleased to present the findings of this scoping study into the lack of women screenwriters in the UK. The UK Film Council, as the Government‐backed strategic agency for film, has a responsibility to ensure that there is a strong evidence‐base to support our activities. Where there are gaps in the research, it is important that we identify these gaps and address them. There are many myths and theories about the position of women screenwriters in the UK. It may come as no surprise to learn that women are under‐represented, but the extent of the imbalance, and the reasons behind it, have never before been examined in any detail. The Institute for Employment Studies has brought together, for the first time, academic research and up‐to‐date industry data to produce an in‐depth, well‐ conducted report. The study indicates that inequality is present at all levels of experience, yet it also shows that women write in a range of genres that appeal to a variety of demographic groups. In fact, films written by women were found statistically to be marginally more financially effective at the UK box office. Facts such as these cannot be ignored by an industry that wants to create sustainable success. We hope that this report will prompt the industry to challenge its preconceptions, and to consider what interventions might be made on behalf of women screenwriters, bearing in mind that the study suggests a lack of awareness of, and/or a resistance to, some forms of support. The UK Film Council will look at what the implications are for our own organisation, and we look forward to working with fellow members of the industry’s Leadership on Diversity Forum, as well as other stakeholders, as we plan the next steps in a long‐ term strategy to identify and remedy the barriers to the success of women screenwriters. I would like to extend my thanks to the members of the research steering group for their invaluable contribution and of course to Women in Film and Television for its support of this project. I hope you enjoy the report and find it as informative and provocative as I did. Andrew Eaton Chair, Leadership on Diversity Forum Deputy Chair, UK Film Council v vi Contents Executive Summary ix The brief xvii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 A historical perspective 1 1.2 Research context: the British/UK film sector 2 1.3 Definition 3 1.4 Research objectives 3 1.5 Methodology 4 1.6 Report structure 4 2 Is There a Problem? 5 2.1 Literature review 5 2.2 UK data 6 2.3 Interviewee opinion 12 2.4 Summary 14 3 Does it Matter? 16 3.1 The social case 16 3.2 The business case 17 3.3 Other arguments 26 3.4 Summary 26 4 Education Pipeline 28 4.1 Literature review 28 4.2 UK data 29 4.3 Interviewee opinion 32 4.4 Summary 33 vii 5 Securing Work 36 5.1 Infrastructure 37 5.2 Female sensibility and audience preferences 42 5.3 Summary 51 6 Nature of the Profession 53 6.2 Interviewee opinion 54 6.3 Summary 63 7 Comparisons with Writing for Other Media and Writing Abroad 65 7.1 Writing for other media 65 7.2 Writing abroad 69 7.3 Summary 70 8 Support 71 8.1 Public funding 71 8.2 Forums 76 8.3 Direct or indirect action 79 8.4 Summary 81 9 Conclusions 83 9.1 Summary 83 9.2 Recommendations 86 9.3 Next steps 90 Bibliography 92 Appendix 1: Methodology 94 Appendix 2: Biographies of interviewees 99 viii Executive Summary Key Findings ■ Women make up 53 per cent of those writing as their main occupation in the population at large, but only 26 percent of those writing for film. ■ Women screenwriters are credited on less than 15 per cent of UK films made between 1999 and 2003. ■ Between 1990 and 2005 women represented less than one in ten of the BAFTA nominees for best original or adapted screenplay, and represented even fewer winners at just three out of 43 (seven per cent), none of whom were British. ■ Films written by women screenwriters are as likely to gain a release as those written by men. ■ The box office return for British films with a female screenwriter is $1.25 per £1 budget, compared with $1.16 for films with all-male writers. ■ Women write a variety of genres, and an equal percentage of films by men and women (just over 30 per cent) are comedies, the most financially successful genre at the UK box office. ■ Women represent approximately 40 per cent of participants on industry-accredited screenwriting courses. ■ Overall cinema audiences are roughly equally balanced between men and women, and women aged 35 plus - not young men - make up the biggest single part of UK cinema audiences at 18 per cent. This study has been produced for the UK Film Council and undertaken by the Institute for Employment Studies, an independent, not for profit research institute. This is a scoping study that, for the first time, gathers known literature, industry and education data, and interview feedback specifically on the participation of female screenwriters writing for film in the UK. The key focus of the study is to explore the scale of any imbalance and the possible reasons for it. The research stems from concern raised by the UK Film Council and Women in Film and Television (WFTV) ix that there were very few female applicants for the ‘25 words or less’ Development Fund programme and very few women screenwriters generally on UK feature films. Another early indicator of a gender imbalance in the profession came from the smaller number of qualified females applying for Royal Holloway’s accredited MA in Feature Film Screenwriting. As a small‐scale scoping study, the research was intended, not to find definitive answers to the questions posed, but to highlight priority areas for further research and future action. The film industry has had a poor record on diversity, including poor representation of minority ethnic and disability groups as well as poor representation of women, in various professions across the value chain, and in content and portrayal. However, key industry organisations are taking action on diversity, acknowledging its importance and recognising the business case for change. Trade associations, unions and other organisations, led by the UK Film Council, have recently signed up to the Equalities Charter for Film, which aims to promote equal opportunities good practice and tackle issues of access, training and representation, both behind the camera and on screen. This report will add to the diversity debate in the industry and act as a springboard to further action, including further research. While gender is an area that receives huge attention in the discipline of film studies, very little research has been conducted that looks at the experience of female screenwriters. No major studies were identified that have been undertaken in the UK before this piece of work, so the gap in this area of research is enormous. This study has made some steps towards narrowing this gap. Is there a problem? Our analysis of the UK data highlights that there is indeed an imbalance in the proportion of women writing for film. Participation data from Skillset and the Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicate that women form a minority in the active screenwriting workforce – whereas they make up 53 per cent of those writing as their main occupation in the population at large, they make up only 38 per cent of those writing for audio visual media other than film, and 26 per cent of those writing for film. Perhaps more worrying is that data show that the proportion of UK films credited with a female screenwriter is only 15 per cent, and the proportion of women screenwriters gaining awards from the industry is lower still, especially for British women. While there is a need for better workforce data collection, on the whole this suggests that a study such as this is long overdue, in mapping the extent of the gender imbalance and providing an evidence base for action. Does it matter? While the film industry has begun to move in very recent years towards improving the diversity of its workforce, particularly in relation to race, it is important that it does not overlook issues of gender diversity. In this scoping study we have only x begun to examine the relevant data, but what the study points to is a good business argument for improving the representation of women in the screenwriting role. UK data show that women write the sort of films that do well in the UK, that the films they make are as likely to gain a release and that their films are actually dollar for pound marginally more financially effective (box office return for films with a female screenwriter is $1.25 per £1 budget compared with $1.16 for films with all‐male writers).