Women in the Arts Campaign Launched to Tackle Gender Inequality in the Arts Industry

• NQ officially launch the #WomenInTheArts campaign
• Our arts reporter Amy Stutz is looking into the shocking statistics of gender equality in the arts and culture sector and how we should shift the balance to make an equal industry.

In the last ten years, the percentage of new plays written by women has gone up by 1%, this small increase highlights the appalling change in the sector in a remarkable amount of time. There is a lack of opportunities for creatives and actors in the theatre industry and this was proved in the 2017 Olivier Awards.

The biggest theatre awards in England struggled to represent women equally in the categories. With Best Director, Best Choreographer and Best Sound Design nominations being 100% male, it’s clear there is an issue with the gender balance.

Although there has been improvement across the arts and culture sector, the improvement is minimal and this lack of change means there isn’t strong enough support for women working in these industries.

This is a problem that roots back to the very beginning, there is a huge imbalance in the boardrooms of these arts and culture companies, such as theatres, museums or publishing houses. Until we tackle the issue at its core, it will continue to stay the same. Whilst the arts have a better record on gender parity than most other sectors, we still have a very long way to go.

National Theatre director Rufus Norris has committed to ensuring gender equality when employing directors and writers by 2021. He said: “There are a lot of women playwrights and women directors coming through, so it’s our responsibility to encourage that and reap the benefits.”

This pledge by the National Theatre has cemented the fact that the industry is aware of the issue, however, we need to see action rather than just statements.

Throughout the campaign, we will be speaking to people in the industry and showcasing the truth of how these big companies are structured in order to raise awareness of the issues with gender equality in the sector in order to spark change.

Support us on Facebook, Twitter and make change with the #Womeninthearts