Ensuring that there is gender equality in positions of power in selection or financing committees
Some of the objectives of parity are obligatory. This is the case in Spain where article 40 of the Ley del Ciné (Cinema Law; December 28, 2007) requires gender parity within the selection committees: all the ICAA funding committees are 50% to 50% men and women.
In Poland the Polish Film Institute changed the rules of the system of expertise in 2017. From now on at least 35% of experts have to be women, and at least one member of the commissions of experts (generally composed of three members). When we contacted the Polish Film Institute we were informed that of the 87 experts 34 were women, that is 39%.
In other countries we observed a desire to achieve objectives of parity.
Since 2017 the new decision making committee of the Austrian Film Institute declared its intention to achieve parity equality in all its departments, a decision which follows an already-existing gender policy in Austria. We noted in last year’s study that Austria was implementing “Gender Budgeting”, that is, including a gendered perspective at the level of decision making concerning the funding process, in the aim of promoting gender equality. In the film industry this means taking gender into account at the moment of forming a commission, and establishing a structure of funding support for directing and production. This policy is however not specifically aimed at the film industry as, since 2008 it has been applied to numerous sectors, starting with the management of the budgets of the Federal Assembly.
In Germany the German Federal Film Funding Act, in vigour since January 1, 2017, also includes a paragraph requiring gender equality in all the different bodies of the Federal Filmboard. “Women should now duly be taken into consideration at the moment of the nomination of the members of the committees”. However, this “taking into consideration” is not supported by obligatory quantifiable objectives. This makes it less a regulatory policy and more a long-term incentivising policy.
Last year we noted a similar stated intention with the German association ProQuote Regie (“ProQuote Direction”) which requires that at least 30% of executive roles in media (not only in the film industry) be allocated to women.
In France the CNC tries to ensure parity in its selection committees and film schools, according to the law on equality of August 4, 2014 and Decree No. 2015-354 of March 27, 2015 concerning equal access for men and women to committees and consultative or deliberative structures attached to the Prime Minister, ministers of state or the Banque de France, which imposes a parity rule to the designation of the members of these administrative commissions. Even though the only CNC commission currently directly affected by this decree is the commission deliberating on the classification of works, there are a number of CNC commissions whose members are appointed by the president of the CNC and are therefore not subject to the decree of March 27, 2015, but nevertheless adhere to a strict gender equality.
The commission overseeing the “advance on recoupment” funding also practices parity, and several key posts are occupied by women. The following are run or presided over by a woman: the commission overseeing the “advance on recoupment”, the TV channels France 2 Cinéma and France 3 Cinéma, la Fémis (school of cinema)…
In Norway a policy of parity is used in parallel with a policy of quotas. The Norway Film Institute aims to build up a large number of women among its managers and conference leaders in order act as role models and improve the recruitment of women.
In Belgium there is no specific policy in place but the film funding commissions of Flanders practice parity. We find the same situation in Switzerland. In 2013 and 2014 the percentage of female members of the commissions of expertise that evaluated projects fluctuated between 32% at the Zurich commission and 60% at the “fiction” commission of the OFC. On average women make up 48% of seats, meaning that the commissions are almost equal.