Gender matters: women in the Australian screen industry

Who is telling Australian stories? And whose stories are being told? Are women adequately represented in key creative roles and positions of influence in the Australian screen industry? If not, why not, and what can we do about it?

On Monday 7 December 2015, Screen Australia announced a five-point, $5 million plan over three years for Gender Matters, a suite of initiatives that address the gender imbalance within the Australian screen industry.

Issues of gender bias have been approached in various ways by Screen Australia, our predecessor agencies, state agencies and industry guilds over the years. Despite this, the level of women’s participation in this industry continues to track along at the low percentages we saw in the 1970s. And a lot of us are asking why.

Screen Australia recognises that other groups may also be under-represented in front of and behind the camera. For more information on on-screen diversity, refer to Seeing Ourselves 2 - Screen Australia’s study on the diversity of main characters across Australian television and online dramas.

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