The session will launch Re-Framing the Picture, the latest evidence on gender equity in the international film industries. The report gives recommendations for policy designs and future research. It will be discussed by the research team, BAFTA Chair Sarah Putt and actor and activist Maria Furtwängler in a panel hosted by Manori Ravindran.

Re-Framing the Picture is based on innovative research undertaken by leading researchers in Germany, Canada and the UK. Their Gender Equity Policy (GEP) Analysis Project assessed gender equity policies and statistics, and modelled the hypothetical impact of different gender equity interventions.

The GEP Analysis Project asked: Which policy levers and interventions can deliver fundamental shifts in industry norms, structures and practices and improve women’s participation in the global screen industries? It answered this question based on findings from an innovative combination of internationally comparative policy analysis, statistical modelling, network analysis and stakeholder interviews.

For the first time in media research, insights from expert interviews and into the social relationships of the industry are combined with analyses of economic and financial data. These new methodologies provide a comprehensive picture of the performance of policy interventions to date. They also allow the researchers to model the gender equality impact for different “what if” policy scenarios and provide advice to industry.

Research team: Professor Skadi Loist, Film University Babelsberg, Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof, University of Glasgow; Professor Deb Verhoeven, University of Alberta and Professor Elizabeth Prommer, University of Rostock.