Acknowledgments We are indebted to the many individuals across the entire industry who helped bring this project into being; and, in particular, to the members of Canadian Unions for Equality on Screen (CUES) who first identified the need for this resource. MediaPLUS+ was made possible by the invaluable financial support and creative contributions of the following organizations and groups. Women In View gratefully acknowledges and thanks the Ontario Media Development Corporation, Telefilm Canada, and the Canada Media Fund for their support of the research and writing of MediaPLUS+. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders. The funders, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada and their agencies are in no way bound by the recommendations contained in this document. Cover photo: Mina Shum, Director, Meditation Park Joss Maclennan Design 2 WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ Diversity isn’t the question. It’s the answer. Since 2012, five annual Women MediaPLUS+ is intended for St. John’s to Victoria, hearing in View On Screen reports on people working in every part of about overt discrimination employment in Canadian media the media who believe change and abuse, as well as the have documented the lack of is imperative, and who want everyday, unconscious bias diversity onscreen and behind the to be part of that change. This that still marginalizes women camera. You’d never guess from booklet is designed to open up at every level of production. industry statistics that 51% of our the discussion, to help all of us We don’t claim to have all the population is female; one in five “nudge” each other, along the answers here, but we hope this Canadians is a racialized minority; entire production chain, into discussion will continue so we and Indigenous people are the expanding our horizons, one can find answers together. fastest-growing population group purposeful decision at a time. Rina Fraticelli in Canada, with close to half the Indigenous population younger Over the past two years, we’ve Executive Director than 24 years of age. spoken with people from Women in View It’s time to create media by and about who we really are – a population that includes women of every race, culture, age, region, language, disability and sexual orientation. As filmmaker Aisling Chin-Yee stated in a recent interview, “We are not the problem. We are the solution to your problem.” Join the conversation Throughout 2018, Women in View will be hosting workshops and conversations about gender equity and diversity across Canada. Go to mediapluscanada.ca to find out the one nearest to you — or to ask for help in organizing one of your own. WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ 3 Mary Kills People writer’s room (L-R): Lara Azzopardi, Supervising Producer; Morwyn Brebner, Executive Producer; Marsha Greene, Producer; Tara Armstrong, Creator and Executive Producer; Justin Giallonardo, Script Coordinator 4 WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ Real stories about real people When I was in high school, Indigenous and people of I ran for student council. But colour, the LGBTQ community, after some incidents involving and people with disabilities. hate speech, I decided to drop And if you’re reading this, you out of the election. I told a have an opportunity to do the guidance counselor about the same. Because what I said racist incidents I’d experienced to that guidance counselor is and said, “I don’t want to also true – it can’t solely be the work for a school that doesn’t responsibility of marginalized work for me.” And I remember people to change an industry her response so clearly: she that has largely shut us out. said if I wanted to change the system, I needed to be in the Some of you might not be system. aware of these issues. Others won’t have the tools or training I was furious. I couldn’t to address them. My hope believe she thought it was is that this booklet will offer my responsibility to fix ideas and resources to help the problem. What about you increase diversity on and the principal? The Student off-screen. Because diversity Handbook with a lengthy Code equals specificity, which of Conduct? Surely the path to means authenticity, which justice wasn’t up to a 17-year- reflects both our reality and old! Now I know – all too well our universality. If our goal as sometimes – my guidance content creators is to tell real counselor had a point. stories about real people, this is where we must begin. I didn’t become a screenwriter to change the industry. But —Marsha Greene when Women in View asked Toronto writer/producer Marsha me to collaborate on this Greene has written for Global’s booklet, I realized I had an hit series Private Eyes, ABC’s opportunity to work from Ten Days in the Valley, and the within to change a system critically acclaimed Mary Kills Marsha Greene that marginalizes women, People for Global and Lifetime. WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ 5 The True North: strong and diverse The Canada we see on TV – PEOPLE featuring a disproportionate WITH number of men compared to CANADA IS... DISABILITIES women, and with a minimum of diversity in either gender – is % nowhere near as colourful as the 15 Canada most of us live in. RACIALIZED This data from Stats Canada shows who we really are. MINORITIES How does it compare with the world of your production and on % your screens? What can you do to 19 make it better WOMEN % *This stat is not from Stats Can51 & highly contested 6 WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ If you film it, they will come! INDIGENOUS MOVIEGOERS: 5 % 52% ARE WOMEN WOMEN-LED LGBTQ FILMS MADE 5 % 6X THEIR INVESTIMENT FILMS WITH FEMALE LEADS EARN MORE WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ 7 What we’re up against Recognizing the Lack of awareness Unbalanced support for obstacles is a key step of the prevalence of the dissemination of gender inequality in working to get rid 1 6 female-created content of them. Research on Conscious and Low representation gender equity in the unconscious gender of women on European audiovisual 2 bias at all levels of the 7 commissioning and sector* has identified industry funding panels, as well the major barriers as on supervisory and executive bodies preventing women Lack of willingness to invest in financially from working in the Unequal pay between 3 ambitious female- industry on equal women and men created audiovisual 8 terms with men. content Failure to support Unequal distribution parents and caregivers, between women and 9 and non-reconciliation of 4 men of funding for work/life balance in the audiovisual content sector Unequal investment Unequal access on the part of equity to employment 5 10 opportunities investors between women and men 10obstacles • Recommendations of The Committee of Ministers on gender equality in the audiovisual sector to member States of the Council of Europe, 27 September 2017 8 WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ TIPS & TOOLS TO GET YOU STARTED Sarah Thomas Moffat, Director of Photography WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ 9 Employers’ checklist things you can do right Track your now 1progress 5 Numbers don’t lie. When the absence of diversity is Look Everyone in a position the norm, you can mistake outside to hire – both men the smallest step for a major leap forward. Numbers tell your circle and women – need to 2 a different story. Record and You don’t know who you check their privilege report the actual gender don’t know. and start opening and racial diversity in your doors to cast and workplace from the top down. If you aren’t checking out crew who deviate Then use that reality check to the films of newcomers, from the old norms. set goals. Use the monitoring seeking out prizewinners form on page 16 of this at indie festivals or It’s not always easy – booklet to get you started. routinely asking people real change requires outside your immediate effort. But it pays off circle, you likely have no big time. Here are idea of the talent out there. some tips to get Set goals: Commit to you started. hiring one or two new women in each production. Commit to making half of new employees diverse. 10 WOMEN IN VIEW | MediaPLUS+ Hire the women Stand by 3 you train 5 your gal We know: it’s hard to tell someone Do bring women onto you’ve hired in the past there isn’t a your set to shadow, 4 spot for them this time. Or that they intern and train in Congrats! weren’t exactly stellar. But don’t preparation for hiring use “affirmative action” as a shield. them, but don’t stop You’ve hired a You’re not only throwing your new there. Hire them. talented individual hire under the bus, you’re feeding Sponsorship and who has a lot to offer the destructive misconception that mentoring means your project. diversity hiring is not talent-driven hiring. recognizing a talented Now make sure you individual and take full advantage Note that a London School of actively championing of what they have Economics study proved the reverse her both within your to offer. Tokenism is true: quotas can work to weed out own productions and doesn’t help anybody. incompetent men. across your network of influence. Don’t hire, or consult with a person of colour, or other rep Take the pledge of a marginalized ACTRA Toronto is asking producers community only to “Take the Pledge” as part of to disregard their their #ShareTheScreen campaign.