GENDER AGENDA:
WOMEN, MEN, AGE AND
EMPLOYMENT IN THE
PERFORMING ARTS
A report by
Dr. Deborah Dean
Industrial Relations Research Unit
Warwick Business School
UK
Survey of Performers in Europe
A unique snapshot of aspects of the working
realities of European performers
Central focus on gender and age
Performers’ social identities and their perceptions
of how they relate to employment in the
television, film and live performance sectors
Acting is a gender-integrated occupation…
unlike most jobs in society. However Thomas (1995) Work opportunities: a woman performer’s
decline as she ages, but a man’s increase as he ages.
Dean (2004/05/07): Employers do look for talent, however
often look for it in the ‘right’ package + Different ranges of
acceptability of ageing and appearance for men and women.
Danish Actors’ Association (2007) found gendered pay
disparities and opportunities for work.
And others
Scope of the project
Members of EuroFIA unions in 28 European countries
asked to complete online survey
2174 respondents
Gender: women 54%, men 46%
Age response rates in descending percentage size:
20-29, 41-50, 30-35, 51-60, 36-40, 61-70,
71-80+, Under 20
Country responses grouped by region
Scandinavia and Baltic States
Benelux Countries
Central European States
Southern European
Western European
United Kingdom and Ireland
618 (29%)
134 (6%)
77 (4%)
98 (5%)
173 (8%)
1056 (49.0%)
Findings not Answers
This survey presents us with a snapshot of working
realities and what performers think about their
opportunities for employment.
Statistics are signposts, not proof. The survey findings do
not give us answers, but help us ask the right questions
and focus on what the affected people think needs
changing or investigating further.
The survey
Background information
Going for jobs
Working patterns and income
Employment opportunity
Age
Social identities
Caring responsibilities
How do you see yourself represented?
What would improve employment opportunities
for you? (questions drawing on previous research)
Gender of respondents by age
20-29:
30-35:
36-40:
41-50:
51-60:
61-70:
71-80+:
men 33%
men 39%
men 47%
men 49%
men 60%
men 58%
men 71%
women 67%
women 61%
women 14%
women 50%
women 40%
women 42%
women 29%
This indicates men have longer careers than women
Income by gender
MEN No income 5% (same as women); Under £6,000 (€7,499) 24% (14% less
than women); £6,000 - £11,999 (€7,500-15,499) 22% (1% more than women);
£12,000 - £19,999 (€15,500-25,999) 16% (same as women); £20,000 - £29,000
(€26,000-37,999) 16% (4% more than women); £30,000 - £39,000 (€38,00050,999) 8% (3% more than women); £40,000 - £49,000 (€51,000-63,999) 3%
(1% more than women); £50,000 - £59,000 (€64,000-74,999) 2% (1.3% more
than women); Over £60,000 (€75,000) 4% (3.6% more than women)
WOMEN No income 5% (same as men); Under £6,000 (€7,499) 38% (14% more
than men); £6,000 - £11,999 (€7,500-15,499) 21% (1% less than men); £12,000
- £19,999 (€15,500-25,999) 16% (same as men); £20,000 - £29,000 (€26,00037,999) 12% (4% less than men); £30,000 - £39,000 (€38,000-50,999) 5% (3%
less than men); £40,000 - £49,000 (€51,000-63,999) 2% (1% less than men);
£50,000 - £59,000 (€64,000-74,999) 0.7% (1.3% less than men); Over £60,000
(€75,000) 0.4% (3.6% less than men)
 In all of the European regions apart from SB, the
largest percentage of performers is either in the
‘Under £6,000 (€7,499)’ income category or
the ‘£6,000-£11,999 (€7,500-15,499)’
category. In SB, the largest percentage of
performers is in the ‘£20,000-£29,000
(€26,000-37,999)’ income category.
No income and lower income categories think
that employers and professional experience are
the most powerful factors in whether or not they
work (as opposed to gender, age, talent).
Once you start earning, you believe that ‘talent’
is most important in employment opportunity.
Opportunity in employment: Gender, Age
Most men thought that their gender gave them
opportunities in employment (49%) and even more
thought that age did (52%)
Perception of lack of employment opportunity as
because of gender: women 57%; men 6%
Perception of lack of employment opportunity as
because of age: women 56%; men 28%
Most disadvantageous category for getting
work [ Age, Gender, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Parental/Caring Responsibilities]
Women: Most disadvantageous: gender 37%; Second most
disadvantageous: age 30%
Men: Most disadvantageous: age 47%; Second most
disadvantageous: gender 4%
All minority ethnic groups saw Ethnicity as Most disadvantageous
category. However, minority ethnic women performers saw
gender and age as much more disadvantageous than minority
ethnic men performers.
The ranking for ‘Most Disadvantageous’ factor in
access to employment is the same across Europe –
first Age, then Gender, then Ethnicity. However,
the percentage of performers in CE, SE and WE
that thought gender was most disadvantageous
was noticeably lower than for SB, B, and UKI.
Also – go to B to be performer parent!
Role content – age effects?
Q: As you have aged, has the content of roles offered in
film, TV, theatre and radio become More Interesting (MI)
Less Interesting (LI) or No Effect (NE)?
All the MI percentages in each sector are greater for
men and smaller for women.
All the LI percentages are greater for women and
smaller for men.
All NE responses are smaller for women than men
apart from Radio, which is the same for both women
and men.
Women performers: gender is disadvantageous
to them along every dimension
In contrast, men performers see their gender either clearly as
an advantage (most dimensions) or else as not either an
advantage or disadvantage.
MEN
 NUMBER OF ROLES: Advantage 74%, Disadvantage 5%, Neither 21%; VARIETY
OF ROLES: A 70%, D 7%, N 23%; PAY: A 26%, D 9%, N 65%; AGEING: A 50%, D
15% , N 35%; PARENTING: A 17% D 15% N 68%; TYPE (most often cast as): A 33%,
D 16%, N 50%; EMPLOYER PERCEPTIONS OF MEN: A 25% D 14% N 62%
WOMEN
NUMBER OF ROLES: Advantage 6%, Disadvantage 79%, Neither 15%; VARIETY OF
ROLES: A 9%, D 73%, N 18%; PAY: A 3% D 49%, N 48%; AGEING: A 11%, D 68%, N
21%; PARENTING: A 4%, D 56%, N 41% ; TYPE (most often cast as): A 15%, D 49%,
N 37%; EMPLOYER PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN: A 6%, D 52%, N 43%
Q: What disadvantages do you have as a
minority ethnic performer?
Strongest perceptions of disadvantage from African-Caribbean
performers:
NUMBER OF ROLES: Advantage 0% , Disadvantage 100%
VARIETY OF ROLES: A 0% , D 100%
TYPE (most often cast as): A 10%, D 84%,
EMPLOYER PERCEPTIONS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES: A 0%, D 100%
Closer results for White/ Caucasian and Black and Minority Ethnic
women than W/C and BME men. There are some large differences
between women by ethnic group; however these differences are generally
smaller than between men by ethnic group – suggesting both additive and
intersectional disadvantage for BME women performers.
Gender regularly represented in a realistically
varied way?
Film: MEN Yes 77%, No 24%;
WOMEN Yes 37%, No 63%
TV: MEN Y 74%, N 26%;
WOMEN Y 40%, N 60%
Theatre: MEN Y 85%, N 15%; WOMEN Y 57%, N 43%
Radio: MEN Y 81%, N 19%;
WOMEN Y 58%, N 42%
Commercials: MEN Y 61%, N 39%; WOMEN Y 29%, N 71%
Age regularly represented in a realistically
varied way?
Film: MEN Yes 68%, No 32%; WOMEN Yes 40%, No 60%
TV:
MEN Y 66%, N 34%;
WOMEN Y 40%, N 60%
Theatre: MEN Y 75%, N 25%;
WOMEN Y 51%, N 49%
Radio: MEN Y 74%, N 26%;
WOMEN Y 54%, N 46%
Commercials: MEN Y 58%, N 42% WOMEN Y 32%, N 68
Interviews
‘Gatekeepers’ – such as agents, directors,
producers, casting directors, television
executives
What influences decisions about access to work
(who gets what job)
Connections with survey findings - how and why
do the statistics exist and persist?
I do not believe that actresses above 40
years start having problems for work.
Belgian casting director, Male
For women appearance is more important than
for men because of the viewing numbers. For
instance we are working on a new soap, a
telenovela in which the main part is a beautiful
young woman. So it has to be that. Beautiful.
For men it’s less important.
Belgian TV casting director, Female
Type-casting is the rule in the business,
looks come first. Talent and experience
will help, but will not get you the job. This
doesn’t mean that you need to be good
looking; you just need to look the part…
Men can have more character, women
almost every time need to be good
looking. Luckily there are exceptions.
Belgian casting director, Male
I had selected a young Moroccan-Belgian actress
in the institute that works to promote young
actors that have just entered the business... The
director [of the institute] said to me
“But why did you choose the Moroccan – do you
need some exoticism?”
On another occasion, the same director told me
that, as far as the girls were concerned, their
selection criteria came down to cup size.
Belgian theatre writer/director, Female
Q: What would make a difference to access to
work for performers, especially regarding age?
Attitude. Not from within [television] but from the
public. People are taking more notice because of
the ‘ageism’ legislation, but it takes a while for
changes to settle and become part of the ‘norm.’
British casting director, Female
Women need to speak up loud and to support each
other.
Norwegian artistic director, Female
Women are busiest and have more varied
roles between age 20 and 35. After that
they're usually "the mother" (in films and
TV). Men continue to get varied role
opportunities all their professional life.
Caucasians are more likely to get role
opportunities in Norway. Caucasian males
are most likely to get leading role
opportunities.
Norwegian agent, Female
What is to be done?
Many performers across different European
regions saw casting as a very closed world with
few genuinely ‘open’ auditions
Many people wanted greater public investment
in the arts or suggested tax cuts to stimulate film
production
Great emphasis on wider, societal perceptions of
women in general and older women in particular
Q: What would improve your
employment opportunities?
‘A representation of women that is not centered on
youth. Real, older, fatter, thinner..all women
..beautiful or otherwise ought to be represented in
their wholeness...the big girl getting the man or the
lead role.. the older woman being sensual and the
focus of men's desire... I once read a casting brief
that stipulated ( with reference to the women)' No
dogs please'. To me that says it all.’
Many women wrote about a need to lose weight
and become ‘more attractive’.
‘Force them to employ more women and
minorities so that the audience get used to
seeing reality and not a fake world with only
young beautiful people.’
We often only see one Black or ethnic minority family in a
soap- and rarely families of mixed races living together..if we
go onto our streets this is the reality…but this is never seen
or reflected in the arts. As a black actress and very dark
skinned I feel completely under represented, colour blind
casting is something we need to move forward to. As a co-op
member and speaking to other black actresses a lot of them
feel held back due to the colour and tone of their skin. I often
feel that if i was a few shades lighter my screen career would
be much stronger…and as an actor and not say a producer
etc I feel completely unable to do anything about it apart
from not to give up.
Q: What would improve your
employment opportunities?
There should be an ethnic media
watchdog to monitor stereotypical
portrayals or lack of portrayals and
provide hard statistics otherwise we will
always be in a talking shop and subject to
the lip service of well meaning but
institutionally or commercially racist gate
keepers.
The fact that society would find elderly women more
interesting.
More female roles, more middle-aged roles, more
female directors, more female authors and more
awareness on the schools on this subject
If good looks didn't mean so much in casting - and
the age-thing that I am starting to notice. I still look
young but if they know how old I am it is a different
story
Better representation of older women and not
automatically casting a man in the functional
roles, i.e. a reporter, a teacher etc. It always
seems that a role which is non gender-specific
always goes to a man and reinforces a
perception that women only matter in relation
to how they relate to men or the family, but
particularly men in a sexual context.
An increase in the number of roles for women
over 35. I am a working actress, but only
because I now work mainly in voiceovers - and
vocally I still play teens and early twenties.
More roles for women (not just whores and
mothers) in general, and for my future; for
middle-aged and older women.
Q: What would improve your
employment opportunities?
‘Miraculous removal of age stereotyping
for women. I am a grandmother, but I
don't wear cardigans and carpet slippers and I still have sex!!!!’
Previous research
Previous picture showed that men and women
performers operate within the same ‘rules’ in
relation to age and appearance - they matter for all
performers in terms of employment opportunity
HOWEVER, the way these rules are understood and
applied is broadly different according to gender and
ethnicity. And this results in different labour market
outcomes
Performing is largely not thought of as ‘work’.
However – product markets, labour markets, supply
and demand
Underlying question: what are the factors involved
in creating particular types of demand?
Glass ceilings, sticky floors – gender/age issues have
not gone away