Breaking In - Breaking down barriers

International Women's Day is a day where we can recognise and celebrate successful women, and raise awareness for the issues that they face, particularly in the workplace. And over the last few months it's become more of a prominent issue than ever within the film and television industries, what with the Weinstein scandal that first appeared in the New York Times back in October, and has been gaining traction ever since. So today seems like an appropriate time to be talking about women in our chosen industry.

You must have been living under a rock if you've managed not to be aware of the #MeToo movement that spiralled out of social media and made its presence heard at all the major awards ceremonies this year. It's brought to attention the level of inequality that still plagues these industries, and is calling for us to take a stand, to do something. 

Women wearing black at Golden Globes in support of #MeToo

So let's tilt the angle a bit here. I'm not here to say 'look how awful the situation in the industry is, look at the gender politics and the inequality,' because that's what everyone else is saying. What I'm more interested in is, where does this leave the women who are trying to make their way into the industry in the first place? The women who are starting out and paving their way. At a disadvantage? Maybe. At any less of a disadvantage than before people called "Time's Up"? We hope so.

To gain some insight into how these issues affect women breaking in to the industry, I had an enlightening conversation with Emily Greenwood, an award-winning writer/director, about her views on these gender politics. 

Do you feel that your progress in breaking in to the industry has been hindered because you're a woman?

I never thought about gender discrimination until now, since people have started talking about it all over the place. On the one hand, there's a new window of opportunity for female writers and directors right now, but I'm not sure the push for support is going deep enough. There is a lot of talk, but less action. People like to be heard talking about supporting female talent, but often fall short of what they say they're going to do. 

I think there is still an unconscious thought that women can't lead, that women are less confident, that women can't direct action sequences or genre. I'm not so sure about writing. I'd hope there would be less prejudice against female writers because there is less of a requirement to lead a group of people, which is something that people feel men do better. 

Emily Greenwood, writer and director

What challenges did you/do you still face in making your name?

I started writing in my teens, and I thought I was going to write novels or be a journalist, but then I became interested in film and started writing scripts, just for myself, until I went to uni in France and got the opportunity to direct. But studying film and media at a university in France meant nothing when I came back to the UK. So I think my first challenge was not coming from a recognised film school like NFTS.

For me, being a mum is my biggest challenge. Splitting my time between being a good mum and directing is a hard one to balance. Raising Films are doing great things for parents in the industry and raising awareness of what a difficult balance it is.

You were a part of the Guiding Lights scheme for upcoming filmmakers, and up until its 8th run, there were often only a small number of female mentors on the scheme, do you see this as a problem in the industry?
I think there are few women in positions of power in all lines of work, not just the film industry. And yes, it is a problem; a difficult one to resolve, but it's moving in the right direction. I think it stems largely from the fact that most women have children at some point in their lives, and become the primary carer for their child.

These are tricky questions to answer. No one says directly, "I don't want to work with you because you're a woman," so it's hard to say why one doesn't get selected for certain jobs or opportunities. There is definitely a global perception of men and women being different in ways that don't help us get jobs in places of heightened responsibility, and that's what needs to change before anything else can.