Read on Twitter
5 years since #WakingTheFeminists. A lot of hard work by a lot of people since has significantly improved women's representation in Irish Theatre. @CiaraLynnMurphy @Ciaraoops and I had a look at the data since. Here's our interim report: https://bit.ly/3njxvwh @WTFeminists
The percentage of work being written/created by women has increased across all organisations included in the original research, who also submitted figures for the period since.
None of this has happened automatically, or by chance. It is the result of planning, accountability, and the consistent work of people counting, noting and making changes. We applaud this commitment and effort, and encourage it to continue to reach and maintain gender equality.
Some of the key figures from the @AbbeyTheatre , where it all began - an average increase of 16% across seven categories.
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/PwoPn/1/
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/PwoPn/1/
The @GateTheatreDub increased female representation - directors at 68% (up from 8%), and creators/writers at 26% (up from 6%). An overall increase across categories measured by #WakingTheFeminists by an average increase of 23%. https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/X8eNP/1/
Achieving gender equality in some roles in some organisations can be a case of reducing rather than increasing representation - for example, @RoughMagicIRL has come closer to gender equality in the role of director, at 62% (down from 80%). https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6OJZQ/1/
One of the figures that hasn’t shifted significantly, across all companies, is the percentage of female representation in the category of Cast. This continues to average below 50%, with the exception of @TheArkDublin and @RoughMagicIRL
Roles such as Sound Design and Costume Design and Stage Management remain highly gendered.
While it is important that organisations track their figures with their own methodology for their internal purposes, it is equally important that a standardised methodology is adopted across the sector, so figures can easily be benchmarked and progress tracked.
The participation of non-binary people in the sector is being recorded and quantified in the data, as endorsed by the #WakingTheFeminists researchers, although the recorded figures are still too small to make an impact statistically.
There is evidence to support a strong correlation between executive and board support within an organisation and best practice in gender counting, tracking and reporting. #LeadershipMatters
Supportive governance structures correspond to how complete the data set is and how regularly it is reviewed and reported — in line with the recommendation from #WakingTheFeminists to have sustainable policies and processes with measurable results.
We have seen some excellent examples of policy and transparency in reporting figures. @DruidTheatre for instance, are reporting annually on their website - a good template for others to follow: https://www.druid.ie/about-druid/governance
Recommendations from the Interim Report to further advance and accelerate gender equality in Irish Theatre: 1) the implementation of a standardised template across the sector for counting, recording, and publishing gender statistics;
Recommendation 2) that theatre organisations ensure that they track gender figures across creative roles. Some organisations have only provided statistics for selected roles, and we recommend that all roles be tracked;
Recommendation 3) that the gender pay gap be tracked alongside gender representation statistics in order to give a fuller view of gender equality.
Recommendation 4) that gender representation should continue to be a key consideration for the planning of future and proposed productions.
Conclusion: It is reassuring to see the continued commitment to gender equality in Irish theatre and performance practice. Thanks to all the companies who shared their figures.
Our recommendations that organisations are transparent, consistent, and dedicated to tracking gender representation across creative roles are more important than ever. We're closer than we've ever been to #genderequality, but we're not there yet!
By counting, recording, and sharing numbers the sector stays transparent and accountable in achieving gender equality.
In a time of great difficulty for the sector, our standards for equal representation must not slip - we owe it to contemporary and future artists to ensure we stand up, count, and be counted. #WakingTheFeminists #SeeItSayItCountItChangeIt #GenderEquality
