Women in Media and Technology: From Findings to Initiatives
There are several initiatives aimed at supporting women in media and technology (a list is provided at the end of this article). However, true gender parity is still far from being a given in Canada. Female producers and business leaders offer a few potential solutions.
Updated on March 7, 2018
In 2016 and 2017, flagship organizations the likes of the NFB, Telefilm, the SODEC, the CBC and the CMF announced initiatives to achieve gender parity by 2020 in the film and TV business.
A year later, we can already see significant improvement. The NFB has now reached gender parity among directors and female-led projects backed by Telefilm have more than doubled from 2015 to 2017.
But while the tide is slowly turning, there is still much work to be done.
Stark statistics
In Canada, men produce more than 84% of the content developed for television or film. This imbalance continues in front of the cameras: an American study established the gender profile of the characters in the 900 films of 2016 that generated the highest profit levels. Only 31.4% of these characters were portrayed by women.
With respect to video games, an industry marked by the #Gamergate during which misogynistic comments were intense on social media, women only hold 16% of all jobs in the country.
The situation is better among US technology giants: in the case of Google and Facebook, women make up 33% of the workforce.
Finally, in the world of entrepreneurship, women also represent a minority. In Canada, women lead only a fraction of all SMEs: they head 17% of all SMEs counting fewer than 5 employees but only 4% of SMEs employing 100 to 500 people. Moreover, they have access to less start-up capital than their male counterparts.
Sexism on a daily basis
Questioned on what could explain such low percentages, Archita Ghosh, executive producer ofE*D Films, and Norma Rossler, President and CFO for Blot Interactive, agree that a sometimes hidden form of sexism is at play.
Examples abound: being mistaken for their partner’s spouse, having clients ignore their answers to technical questions, being spoken to in condescending terms, being the object of derogatory comments on the appearance of women…
“Even the vocabulary is wrong,” explains Ghosh. “Talking about success, you can hear stuff like ‘You always have to be the hot chick in the room so everybody wants you.’”
Potential solutions
However, beyond the language, Archita Ghosh deplores the fact that businesswomen do not have sufficient access to capital. This entrepreneur who has been active for the past 25 years believes that “[…] access is limited to women because women have not traditionally built up that [tech start-up] structure. That structure has been built one way: for men, by men. It’s not like I feel I’m inadequate in business, but I don’t meet those criteria.”
She feels that a fundamental link is missing in the chain to support female entrepreneurs: capital to ensure their business growth. “I don’t need 5 or 10 grand and I don’t need a billion, but I do need $100,000,” she explains. “And then we will start changing the mould right there!”
Companies that are led by women need to be supported if the existing culture is to change and if new women are to be attracted to the media and technology sectors: this opinion is shared by several other female entrepreneurs.
“It’s doubly even quadruply important to support female entrepreneurs because that’s what will enable us to take off on new bases, start with a blank canvass, create companies that reflect who we are and deal with subjects and problems that are dear to our hearts,” states Cassie Rheaume, founder of Ladies Learning Code Montreal, during a discussion on women in technology organized by MTL NewTech.
Pamela Alfred, founder of Ask-PAM, adds that the more women get involved in technology, the more they will be comfortable doing so. “I am more inclined to hire a woman and she will be more inclined to work with us because there are already women in the company,” explains Alfred. “It begins with us, we need to make the effort.”
It is also the recognition of women’s contribution to a company that will mark a real turning point toward parity believes Christine Renaud, founder of E-180. “This contribution must be recognized and valued. That’s when women will feel welcomed and listened to.”
And the studies on this are clear. As pointed out in the CMF’s 2017 Trends Report, “focusing on cultural diversity and gender equality means reaching a wider audience, promoting the development of technologies for all, and, ultimately, generating greater profits.”
To do so, Norma Rossler estimates that an effective strategy consists of focusing on the new generation that is arriving on the job market. By giving young women the opportunity to improve their résumé and carve out a place for themselves in the media and technology industries, current employers can contribute to reversing the trend.
Resources available to support women in media and technology
Here's a list of national and regional initiatives that support women in the fields of media, technology and entrepreneurship in Canada.
Media
National initiatives
- Academy Apprenticeship for Women Directors: The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television launched in 2017 a hands-on learning and networking program to support Canada’s female producers.
- Breaking Barriers Film Fund: This CBC fund finances English-language feature film projects that are scripted or directed by Canadian women, Aboriginals, members of visible minorities and the disabled.
- Women First - Zapruder Films Screenwriting Program: The first edition of this program provided $12,000 to a female scriptwriter for the writing of a screenplay as well as mentorship support.
- 2XMore: Implemented by Women in View and the Directors Guild of Canada, this initiative links shadowing to directing.
Regional initiatives
- Five in Focus: Launched at the 2016 Whistler Film Festival and headed up by a stellar jury, Five in Focus will identify and promote five talented female directors every year for three years.
- A list of French-speaking women recognized as digital media experts: The goal of this list is to put an end to 100% male conferences on the future of media.
Entrepreneurship
National initiatives
- Business Women in International Trade (BWIT): This program, available from the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS), provides products and services designed to help female entrepreneurs market their activities at an international level.
- Fierce Founders Bootcamp: This program is aimed at start-ups that include at least one women among their founders. It provides mentoring as well as financial support and prizes to the winning teams.
- Women’s Program: The Status of Women Canada (SWC) Women’s Program provides financial and professional assistance to organizations to carry out projects at the local, regional and national levels in order to improve the status of women.
- SheEO: This fund is endowed by the donations of Canadian female entrepreneurs. The capital raised is then redistributed to selected women in the form of interest-free loans.
- Women in Technology Fund - BDC: With $70 million to be invested over 5 years, it’s the largest venture capital fund in North America dedicated solely to investing in early stage Canadian women led technology companies across sectors.
- Women Founders Accelerator: This DMZ four-month accelerator program, in partnership with Scotiabank and Tangerine, helps Canada’s top women-led startups grow by achieving their product market fit and securing early revenue.
- Startup Canada Women Founders Fund: This fund awards $1,000 micro-grants to female entrepreneurs as well as companies led by women.
Regional initiatives
- Fierce Founders Accelerator: This program provides financial and mentorship support to start-ups based in Ontario that include at least one woman among their founders.
- Femmessor: Administered by Filaction, this fund has close to $25 million to supports female entrepreneurs in all regions of Québec.
- iNovia Empower: The initiative is an effort to make the firm’s expertise more readily available to Montreal and Toronto founders of all backgrounds, especially those who may face more systemic barriers.
- Women’s Enterprise Initiative (WEI) Loan Program: Available in each of the four western provinces, this program provides up to $150,000 in financing to companies that are 50% or more owned and controlled by women.