Female professionals in European film production
The European Audiovisual Observatory publishes new report on female professionals active in the European film industry. This report Female professionals in film production provides an assessment of the gender imbalance among film professionals within the European film industry.
The analysis includes an overview of the gender of professionals who have worked on at least one European feature films in one of the following key roles: Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Cinematographer, Composer, Actor in a lead role.
In addition, the report explores the gender composition of professional teams and identifies the share of films led by female-majority teams.
Key insights for the period 2016 – 2020:
- Women represented less than one film director out of four in Europe.
- The gender gap was less pronounced among producers and screenwriters: women accounted for 33% of producers and 27% of screenwriters active in European feature films.
- The female presence was lowest among cinematographers (10%) and composers (9%).
- Women working in film crews in key roles tended to work in teams more often than their male colleagues and they were less likely than men to be the sole professionals working in a given role on a feature film.
- On average, women working in behind-the-camera roles worked on slightly fewer films than their male counterparts.
- Between 2016 and 2020 the average share of female directors per film was only 20%, with no significant evolution over the years. This figure was 25% for screenwriters.
- The share of films by female-majority teams was higher for documentary films than for other film genres, taking into account all professional categories.