Progress towards gender parity can be slow in any industry, but new research from the University of Alberta shows it could take almost 200 years to reach that goal in Canada's film industry.
Deb Verhoeven and her collaborators Elizabeth Prommer, Skadi Loist and Doris Ruth Eikhof examined 12,000 films made between 2005 and 2020, primarily in Canada, the U.K. and Germany. They focused on key creative positions producers, writers and directors, says Verhoeven, who is Canada 150 Research Chair in Gender and Cultural Informatics, jointly appointed to the Department of Digital Humanities and Women's and Gender Studies.
The results show Canada falls dramatically behind the U.K. and Germany, where gender parity is expected to be reached in 61 years and 17 years respectively at the current rate of progress
