In December 2015 Australian state film fund Screen Australia unveiled Gender Matters, an initiative encouraging greater gender representation in film and TV. As part of the program, women would occupy at least 50 percent of the creative roles on half of Screen Australia-backed projects. The Gender Matters target has been hit — and then some. According to a press release, 56 percent of projects receiving Screen Australia funding have gender-balanced creative teams, across a three-year average.
The original 50/50 goal, or KPI (key performance indicator), considered the behind-the-scenes roles of writer, director, and producer as well as a given project’s protagonist. From 2016/17 through 2018/19, women represented 49 percent of writers, directors, and producers on Screen Australia-funded projects.
“Over three years ago we set out with the objective of better utilizing the talents of Australia’s female screen creatives. Today’s results are an incredible milestone for both Screen Australia and the industry,” stated Joanna Werner, producer, Screen Australia Board member, and Gender Matters Taskforce chair. “This is by no means the finish line to achieving gender parity, particularly in writer and director roles, but today we celebrate that systemic change in our sector is well underway.”
Werner continued, “I’m particularly pleased to see year-on-year growth in the amount of feature films that met the Gender Matters KPI. There is a substantial slate of female-directed Australian films due for release including ‘Angel of Mine,’ ‘Ride Like a Girl,’ ‘The Nightingale,’ ‘Babyteeth,’ ‘Judy and Punch,’ ‘Animals,’ and ‘Relic,’ so it’s essential we vote with our wallets and go to see these films in the cinema to support this wave of talent,” she said.
To make good news even better, Gender Matters will be keeping up the momentum. The program is setting a new KPI for the 2019/20 through 2021/22 timeframe. Going forward, women must comprise at least half of the creative teams on all Screen Australia-supported projects. The new KPI will not consider a protagonist’s gender, but Screen Australia plans to keep track of its on-screen representation and report on it yearly.
The org seems to be trusting that gender parity off-screen will translate to equity on-screen. “Whoever is in control of the story will influence what we see on screen,” opined Nerida Moore, Screen Australia Head of Development. “As such over the last three years, the growth in female creatives has had a clear impact on the stories told, with 58% of funded drama productions in 2018/19 having a female protagonist.”
Hopefully Screen Australia’s dedication to gender parity will inspire other organizations to follow suit. Overall, it seems that the Australian film industry — like Hollywood — has a lot of work to do inclusion-wise. Along with its KPI announcements, Screen Australia published data examining women’s representation in Australian features, documentaries, and television since 2011. With the exception of TV and doc producing, women are still underrepresented as writers, directors, and producers.
You can find more information about the Gender Matters KPIs and further gender parity research over on Screen Australia’s website.
