London : Female arts leaders gathered on 12 October in parliament as part of an ongoing campaign to promote equality for women working in the cultural sector.
Leaders from organisations including the British Film Institute (BFI), English National Opera (ENO) and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) attended the roundtable discussion on 12 October at the House of Commons.
The parliamentary campaign was spearheaded by advocacy organisation Women in the Arts, following a five-year research project into women working in theatre.
Following the research project, Arts Council England agreed to launch a year-long “task and finish” group to investigate the issue.
The roundtable discussion in parliament resulted in a number of agreed outcomes, including the development of a Women in the Arts All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in order to highlight these issues on a parliamentary level.
Women in the Arts will also host a town hall meeting at London’s Young Vic, open to all women in the sector.
In addition, evidence collected at the meeting and via the first Women in the Arts survey will be submitted to the Women and Equalities Committee, with the hope of prompting an inquiry into women in the arts, which would expand the committee’s previous inquiry into women in music.
Women in the Arts also said that a meeting with ACE’s new chair, Dawn Airey, is being scheduled for the end of the year.
‘Important all voices are heard and reflected’
The roundtable comes after Women in the Arts announced in June that it was launching a “parliamentary partnership” to push for a government inquiry into the “under-representation of and discrimination against women in the arts”.
Attendees of the roundtable discussion included the RSC’s co-artistic director Tamara Harvey, ENO’s chair Louise Jeffreys and executive director Marina Warner, the Young Vic Theatre’s artistic director Nadia Fall, director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund Mia Bays and head of the PRS Foundation’s Women Make Music programme Elizabeth Sills.
Executive director of the visual arts Freelands Foundation Amy Walker, CEO of Fashion Roundtable Tamara Cinick, CEO of Women in Film and TV Katie Bailiff, artistic director Sonia Sabri, musician Deirdre Cartwright, actor Victoria Jeffrey, Opera All Party Parliamentary Group Convenor Janet Gibson and CEO of Women in the Arts and Women in Theatre Jennifer Tuckett were also in attendance.
The first Women in the Arts survey, which was published last month, found that three quarters of women had reported experiencing sexism and unconscious bias, and over 95% felt there was gender inequality in the arts.
It also highlighted issues including age discrimination and the impact of class and socio-economic background and caring responsibilities on people working in the arts.
Tuckett said: “If the arts are partly about reflecting on who we were, who we are, and who we can be, it is important all voices are heard and reflected.
“If women are being forced out of the arts due to age discrimination, caring responsibilities or unconscious bias, for example in terms of who makes a good leader or is less of a box office risk, it is important that this issue is addressed.”
She added: “We hope the parliamentary campaign will ensure this issue is also on the agenda of parliament via the establishment of ongoing measures like a Women in the Arts APPG to keep an ongoing eye on this issue and share information with parliament.”
