Why Women End Up Producing Rather than Directing

Since the launch of the Free the Bid initiative (to pledge that at least one director in any triple bid situation is female), I’ve found myself in a series of chin-stroking conversations with people wondering “how has this happened?”. They find the news that 93% of commercials are directed by men surprising, but they’re not sure how it has anything to do with them. 

We all know what happens when young people enter the world of filmmaking. Bouncing into studios, sets and offices unburdened by cynicism and fuelled by “Dream, Believe, Achieve” aphorisms, would-be artists and directors quickly realize they’re unlikely to get signed off the back of a graduate film. So they resign themselves to a few months (or years) of bin duty, manual labour and learning by osmosis... AKA, running.

Around this time, career paths fork into ‘creative’ or ‘production’ roles, and people often find themselves moving in an unexpected direction. This makes sense - mostly you have no idea that half of these jobs even exist until you start working. You discover roles that appeal to your skill set, you see people you admire doing these jobs and think ‘I could do that’. But why is it that the people who ‘fall into’ production roles tend to be women, and those who pursue creative roles tend to be men? Why is it that in our industry there is an overwhelming gender split that sees women enabling the creative vision and voice of men? 

I speak from personal experience. I wanted to be a copywriter. But after a year of working with a string of inspiringly badass female producers, being praised for my interpersonal skills, and having my “control enthusiasm” actively encouraged, I decided I wanted to be a producer instead. 

“I’m a nice liberal type, I’m not a misogynistic twat… Well, I guess I’ve done my bit”. 

At this point it’s important to flag the false binary between production & creative roles. Being a good producer necessitates brilliant creative skills – having an eye for detail, curating artists, problem solving, diplomacy and number juggling give the left-hand side of my brain just as much of a headache as the right. Likewise being a really good director, writer or animator requires analytical talent to give form and structure to artistry. 

Whilst working in production dictates that I celebrate the joy of the journey, in the context of equality, the destination - the film - is important. If that end result is the vision and voice of a man (and likely a white man at that) 93% of the time, then there is a serious problem.

This means that: 

- 93% of the commercial films girls and boys grow up with are delivered to them via a male gaze. 

- 93% of the available role models out there for aspiring directors are male. 

Which creates a patriarchal feedback loop that it’s going to take more than simply not-being-a-sexist-twat to break. 

This isn’t just an ethical issue: if you want to make creatively-diverse work, if you want to find new and unexpected stories, then you must expand the pool of people you invite to tell them. 

At Strange Beast, we’re working towards a gender-balanced roster (currently at 45%). There is a misconception that somehow works created by women might be more ‘feminine’, as if having female directing talent will lead to endless watercolour animations crafted from PMS tears extolling the virtues of pro-biotic yoghurt. That is, frankly, absurd. Each of our artists is an individual, each have lives as infinitely complex and confusing as yours, and each will therefore create work with a unique vision. What we gain in having women on our roster is a little diversity and a step towards equality. At all levels, we have a responsibility to actively do something to change not only gender balance, but BAME representation in our industry too. 

Having established directing talent is one thing, but we must also make that girl with her grad film believe that she can become a director if that’s what she wants to do. Taking no action means we default to the status quo: being passive in this instance amounts to a decision to uphold inequality. 

We must develop and encourage young women to become the next generation of directors, reminding them that it’s not only possible; it’s imperative.