Event Report: Women Working in Television Debate

17 March 10

Our debate was chaired by journalist Kate Bulkley, and followed a presentation by Kate O’Connor, Executive Director of Policy & Development (Deputy CEO) Skillset.

Panel members included Rebecca Barrie of The Cavendish Psychotherapy Practice, Jay Hunt, Controller at BBC1, Kate Kinninmont, Chief Executive at Women in Film and Television, Camilla Lewis, Head of Factual Features at talkbackTHAMES, Anne Morrison Director at BBC Academy and one 'token man' as he was repeatedly referred to; Simon Shaps, Chairman of Mercury Media and the National Film & Television School.

• Watch the Debate here

Event report

The discussion was opened by Skillset Executive Director, Kate O’Connor who got the ball rolling by revealing some striking statistics unearthed in their 2009 Employment Census Report and 2008 Creative Media Workforce Survey. Figures revealed that within the media industry women are severely under represented, but even more worryingly, their numbers have dropped dramatically in recent years. The proportion of female employees in television has dropped from 38% to just 27% in the last three years, with nearly 5,000 women leaving the sector. To put this into context, this drop out rate is 6 times higher than for men, of whom 750 have left the field during the same period.

Such concerning statistics were described by panel chairman Kate Bulkley as ‘sobering to say the least’, and paved the way for a passionate discussion about everything from working mums and ageism to career strategy and the ingrained prejudices within television industry culture.

Anne Morrison admitted that she continues to recognise a worrying degree of ageism in the sector and Simon Shaps called for a government policy that would set out quotas for the percentage of women working in television. He stated;

Without doubt, there is a pan industry problem here…At some point along the way gender equality was pushed aside as people assumed it had been dealt with years ago.

On a more positive note, Kate Kinninmont highlighted new plans from Women in Film and Television to extend their mentoring scheme to include women returning to work after a break, particularly freelancers who often find it hard to get back in the loop.

Many audience members joined the debate, sharing experiences and voicing their concerns; from the difficulties facing graduates breaking into the sector to older women who are excluded from roles in front of the camera because they are no longer ‘young and blonde’. The over arching message was a cry for women of all ages to believe in their abilities and to keep up the momentum of change that these figures have set in motion.

Links and resources

Have your say and contribute to the discussion. The debate continues on Twitter #womenintv .

• Watch the the event video and hear the opinions of women working in TV
• Find out more about the 2010 MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival

Download Kate O'Connor's Women in TV indroductory speech (529 KB)

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