‘There is Still Some Work to be Done, But We’ve Come a Long Way’: The Changing Position of Women in Technical Television Jobs

Jackson, Vanessa (2021) ‘There is Still Some Work to be Done, But We’ve Come a Long Way’: The Changing Position of Women in Technical Television Jobs. Women's History Review. ISSN 0961-2025

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Abstract

Although there is a body of scholarship concerning women’s roles in the British media industries, few studies have analysed how women’s career paths within these industries have changed over time. This article addresses that omission. It draws on empirical research with 130 women working in the UK television industry, to provide insights into the changing nature of women’s roles across technical, production and editorial areas over the last forty years. Previous research and industry reports have shown women were concentrated in low status, low paid, feminised roles, with little chance of promotion. This new research demonstrates evidence of positive change, such as entry routes being less gendered and increased opportunities in some technical roles, while simultaneously highlighting persistent issues including pay inequality, the ‘old boys’ network’, managing caring responsibilities, and crises of confidence. This study provides significant evidence of women’s career paths now being more varied and flexible, with improved opportunities for women in ‘quasi-technical’ areas within production. Women are now better represented across television production roles, although the same cannot be said for many location-based craft occupations such as camera, sound and lighting, where difficult to tackle, unmanageable gender inequalities remain.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1080/09612025.2021.1944352
Dates:	Date Event 10 June 2021 Accepted 29 June 2021 Published
Uncontrolled Keywords:	television production, technical roles, gender inequalities, oral history, career paths, below-the-line, gender discrimination
Subjects:	CAH24 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01-05 - media studies CAH20 - historical, philosophical and religious studies > CAH20-01 - history and archaeology > CAH20-01-01 - history
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > College of English and Media
Depositing User:	Vanessa Jackson
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2021 08:48
Last Modified:	29 Dec 2022 03:00
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/11962

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