Women remain noticeably underrepresented in the film and TV production sectors in many countries around the world, and Spain, Mexico, and Argentina are no different. A round table session on the final day ofpresented studies on female participation in the audiovisual sectors of those countries and saw speakers call for a change in attitudes and support to ensure a greater presence of female professionals.
She also highlighted that women are a minority in most job categories in the industry except for esthetics-focused roles that traditionally have been viewed as strong areas for women. For example, female professionals account for 85 percent of workers in the field of costumes, 81 percent in makeup, and 64 percent in art direction.
Angeles said that in Mexico, similarly, “we still have room for improvement.” And she added that “we have a lot to do to keep women in the industry after they direct their first movie.” For Argentina, Farji said there is data for the top blockbusters, showing women accounting for 34 percent of professionals involved. After #MeToo, female representation, particularly among directors, improved, but then the COVID pandemic had a “brutal” impact on it. “It’s a sort of a rollercoaster, and for women, it’s always harder to come back,” she said. But women are traditionally better represented in such genres as documentaries, the expert also noted.