A collection of extracts on what’s being said about gender equality in our world.
French stars say ‘Time’s Up,’ seek equality at film awards
Angela Charlton, Associated Press, Mar 2, 2018
https://www.news1130.com/2018/03/02/french-stars-say-times-up-seek-equality-at-film-awards/
PARIS – The French film world may be having its #MeToo moment.
One after another, stars showed up at the industry’s top awards show Friday wearing a white ribbon in a protest against sexual misconduct. Throughout the Cesar Awards ceremony, presenters referenced the movement that has campaigned for an end to abuses by powerful men
Actress Penelope Cruz arrives at the 43rd Cesar Film Awards ceremony at Salle Pleyel in Paris, Friday, March 2, 2018. France’s movie industry holds its annual awards ceremony, with many stars at the Cesar Awards planning to wear a white ribbon to protest sexual misconduct. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
And the packed concert hall stood in ovation as the presenter called on everyone to support the #MaintenantOnAgit (Now We Act) campaign launched this week and efforts to help women pursue legal complaints against abusers.
Anger over sexual violence and demands for gender equality in the cinema industry charged the atmosphere around this year’s Cesars — much like around the Oscars coming Sunday.
Instead of wearing black — as actors in the U.S. and Britain have done at recent awards shows — French stars chose to wear a white ribbon to make their statement.
A call on the website of the Foundation of Women, collaborating with the white-ribbon movement, says that “‘We submitted,’ ‘We endured,’ ‘We kept silent.’”
More than 100 personalities, including actress Sandrine Bonnaire, director Agnes Jaoui and actor-director Julie Gayet asked for donations via the foundation. The funds are destined for associations helping women pursue cases before justice, “so that no woman ever again has to say #MeToo.”
French film stars including Juliet Binoche called in a proposal in Le Monde’s Friday edition for quotas to guarantee that more government film subsidies go to movies directed by women.
Some have criticized the quota idea as counterproductive, however.
France’s entertainment industry has seen divisions over the #MeToo movement that started in Hollywood with sexual abuse accusations against producer Harvey Weinstein, with Catherine Deneuve notably saying it had gone too far.
No one at the Cesars publicly said anything similar.
The ceremony’s president Vanessa Paradis — singer and actress and Johnny Depp’s ex-wife — set the tone by opening the show saying: “I am wearing this white ribbon for the fight against violence against women.”
The ceremony was dedicated to Jeanne Moreau, the smoky-voiced femme fatale of the French New Wave who died last year, known for her distinctive blend of sensuality, intellect and resolve.
And the honorary career Cesar is going to Penelope Cruz.
Major film industry gender equality movement launches in France
Some 300 professionals from across the French cinema world have signed up to a new movement called the Collectif 5050×2020 demanding more gender equality and diversity in the country’s film industry.
The aim of the initiative, launched on the eve of the country’s prestigious César film awards this evening, is to put in place concrete steps to bring about equality across the business, says film sales executive Bérénice Vincent, co-founder and spokesperson for the collective.
The initiative is among a raft of gender equality campaigns to have sprung up across the film world amid the ongoing reflection on female representation in the cinema business sparked by the anti-sexual harassment #MeToo movement last year.
It launches, however, against a complicated backdrop in France, where there has been a mixed response within the film industry and beyond to the related issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the cinema business.
“In spite of the shockwave of #MeToo, French cinema has not really been shaken by the Weinstein affair, and nothing concrete has come out of it. It’s raised awareness of inequalities, but our expectations are for this to go further and for speeches to be joined by actions,” explained Vincent.
“Discussions were begun across different circles in the industry which we’re growing by bringing together all sides of the profession, both on the creative and industry side,” she continued. “The idea is to seize the moment in a positive way and to structure the reflection around the question of inequalities and the distribution of power.”
Vincent said the collective would act as an “action think tank” that would “create tools” aimed at changing present day thinking as well as put pressure on public institutions and the private section to make structural changes fostering gender equality.
Report shows ‘no long-term improvement of gender equality’ in British film industry
Sherna Noah, Sunday Post, 03 March 2018
The British film industry is still failing to represent women in its top behind-the-camera roles, according to research.
A study found that there had been little change in the number of female directors or cinematographers in the past decade.
Female British directors who have enjoyed success over recent decades include Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha and American Honey’s Andrea Arnold.
TV Production studio
But only 14% of all directors and 7% of all cinematographers were women across 3,452 films in production in the UK between 2003 and 2015, the report said.
Dr Shelley Cobb, from the University of Southampton, one of the authors of the study, said: “This data shows very clearly that there is no long-term improvement of gender equality in the British film industry, despite training schemes, funding rules, or best practice statements. ”
She said: “There are well-trained, experienced, and talented women filmmakers working now who should be at the top of their careers but they have been left aside by the gatekeepers, tastemakers, and financiers who need to change and learn how to make equality a reality.”
The report says just 10% of directors and 4% of cinematographers were of black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) identity.
It says only 1% of all directors were female BAME.
The University of Exeter’s Professor Linda Ruth Williams, who also carried out the study, said the situation was “unacceptable”.
“Despite initiatives to improve the numbers of more diverse voices and perspectives, we are seeing stagnation. It is time for change,” she said.
The figures were produced for the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project Calling The Shots: Women And Contemporary Film Culture In The UK.
The number of female directors increased by just three percentage points from 11% to 14% between 2003 and 2015.
The number of female cinematographers increased by five percentage points from 2% to 7%.
BFI statistics show that around 55,000 people work in film production in the UK, the report said.
At this year’s film Baftas, only men were nominated for best director and cinematographer.
Ms Sarah Ssali, associate professor dean school of women and gender studies and Ms Susane Spets counsellor head of development cooperation embassy of Sweden address the media.
Makerere holds gender identity week to empower rural women, girls
Monitor Correspondent, Daily Monitor, March 2, 2018
As the world prepares to commemorate the International Women’s Day next week on March 8, 2018, Makerere University School of Women and Gender Studies in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden has organized a gender identity week to celebrate the women in a holistic manner.
The week will run from March 5 to March 10, 2018 under the theme “Transformations for empowerment of rural women and girls: Opportunities and challenges.”
While addressing the press at Makerere University on Friday, the dean School of Women and Gender Studies, Dr Sarah Ssali said gender activists, development partners, media and students will interact with the general public to tackle topical issues affecting the Ugandan girl-children, boy-children, women and men.
Daily activities will include dialogues, debates and paper presentations on Women’s Achievements, opportunities and challenges; positive masculinities; social economic transformation, women and representation; policy issues on women’s rights to productive resources and women and political participation.
“This week, therefore, underscores the role played by gender identities in transforming societies as it reflects on how the identities of both females and males play out in the empowerment process of women,” said Dr Ssali.
The activities will also sensitize people on how gender identities influence people’s capabilities at home, in the work place and everywhere they go,” she added.
Ms Susanne Spets, the Sweden Deputy Head Mission in Uganda who also attended the conference, revealed that her country through its Feminist Foreign Policy has supported a number of gender based projects in Uganda with an aim of ensuring equality between men and women as well as ensuring that women and girls enjoy human rights, representation and resources.
“Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy aims to achieve equality between men and women and ensuring that women and girls enjoy human rights,” noted Ms Spets adding, “My government is serious about gender equality and women’s rights. I am proud to represent the first feminist government in the world. I believe that women and men should have the same power to shape society and their own lives,” Spets said.
45 conferences, showcases commit to gender equality
IQ, Feb. 26, 2018
httpss://www.iq-mag.net/2018/02/45-conferences-showcases-commit-gender-equality/
A host of new European festivals and music industry events have given their backing to the Keychange initiative, committing to a 50/50 gender balance
Forty-five new music industry conferences and showcase festivals have signed up to PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative, pledging to achieve or maintain a 50/50 gender balance across their events by 2022.
Politicians, artists and the wider music industry will gather at the Canadian High Commission in London this evening to mark the milestone, which sees events including the Netherlands’ Eurosonic Noorderslag, Spain’s Granada Experience, France’s Midem, Canada’s Canadian Music Week and BreakOut West, Norway’s Borealis and the UK’s Wide Days, Roundhouse Rising and Focus Wales joining founding festival partners Reeperbahn Festival (Germany), BIME (Spain), Iceland Airwaves, Way Out West (Sweden), Musikcentrum Sweden, Tallinn Music Week (Estonia), MUTEK (Canada) and the Great Escape (UK) as Keychange supporters.
Keychange is backed by the EU’s Creative Europe programme, and will later this year presents its manifesto at an event at the European parliament in Brussels.
Other participating festivals include Liverpool Sound City (UK), Waves Vienna (Austria), Westway Lab (Portugal), Hard Working Class Heroes (Rep. of Ireland), A2IM Indie Week (US) and Pop-Kultur (Germany).
“We support diverse talent across every programme we run at PRS Foundation,” says the charitable organisation’s CEO, Vanessa Reed. “Forty per cent of our grantees in 2017 were from a BAME [black, Asian and minority-ethnic] background and 53% featured female artists. Our focus on gender equality in 2018 aligns with the centenary for some women being given the vote in the UK. A hundred years on, the push for gender parity across society continues, and with increased public awareness of inequalities across the creative industries we have an opportunity to respond and commit to tangible change in music.
“The Keychange network of female artists and industry professionals and the festival partners’ idea of establishing a collective pledge will significantly accelerate change. I hope that this will be the start of a more balanced industry which will result in benefits for everyone.”
Reeperbahn’s Alex Schulz adds: “Reeperbahn Festival is proud to be a founding Keychange partner because we recognise the barriers that women are facing in the music industry and we know that our festival stages aren’t as balanced as we would like them to be. Keychange is promoting a shift that will ultimately be good for our festivals and good for the industry as a whole. I hope that many more festivals will have joined with us by the end of this year, making this a global movement.”