Film and TV ‘persistently’ promote stereotypes about women, study finds

Film and audiovisual works produced in Portugal “persistently” resort to stereotypes of women and lack multiple representations of gender and other identities, according to a study presented this Wednesday.

This is one of the conclusions presented in the study “The situation of women in the cinema and audiovisual sector in Portugal”, carried out by the association MUTIM – Mulheres Trabalhadoras das Imagens em Movimento and presented this Wednesday at a meeting in Lisbon.

The study, coordinated by researcher Katharina Duff Burney, was based on a survey carried out by 515 people working in the sector (363 women, 143 men and nine who did not identify as binary or chose not to respond), supplemented by interviews with ten women and analysis of financial support for competitions from the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts.

In March last year, MUTIM already presented preliminary findings, namely that in Portugal, women working in this field earn less than men, progress more slowly in their careers and that there are cases of gender discrimination, harassment and racism.

According to the study, job insecurity cuts across both men and women and is “a major stressor”, but 59% of women responded that their annual income was up to €14,999 gross, compared to 40% of men.

Of the women who took part in the survey, about 60% said they gave up their careers “with the advent of motherhood.” “Balance between family life and professional life is seen as a very difficult goal to achieve,” the study says.

Another piece of research data released in March is that of the total number of women who took part in the survey, “41.6% were victims of gender discrimination, 37.6% were victims of harassment in the workplace and/or performance their duties, 7.5% were victims of xenophobia and 1.4% were victims of racism.”

In interviews, the professionals interviewed “explicitly mentioned mental or physical persecution” and were aware of or witnessed specific cases.

Respondents, especially women, also recognize that “the narratives created and implemented today are not plural in terms of the representation of gender and other identities, persistently resorting to stereotypes. says the study.

It also highlights the gender imbalance between men and women in senior positions in media groups with free-to-air TV channels: “Boards of directors, like other group-specific management bodies, are predominantly composed of men. this is also true, and even more noticeable, in the areas of production and programming.”

In an analysis of 16 ICA funding competitions dating back to 2022, the study shows that the volume of applications submitted by men is “significantly higher, and there are competitions in which not a single woman-led project is funded.”

“The jury of these 16 competitions consists mostly of men (56.25%) and, although there has been a positive trend since 2018 (50% of the jury consisted mainly of men, and in 25% there was no female representative), there is no parity at all no,” he concludes.

In March, researcher Mariana Liz from MUTIM explained to Lusa that the research “could serve to develop new public policies or policies that take into account the obvious inequalities in the sector.”

The research was carried out with the support of the MUTIM association in partnership with the Center for Research in Communication and Culture and the Laboratory for Research in Audiovisual Communication of the Portuguese Catholic University.

The presentation of this research is part of the 1st MUTIM Forum on Gender Inequality in Film and Audiovisual Media, which began today and ends on Friday at the Goethe Institute in Lisbon.

For example, representatives of associations of directors, screenwriters, producers, the Portuguese Film Academy, the Commission for Gender Equality, researchers, as well as Veronica Fernandez (Netflix Spain and Portugal), Iris Zappe-Heller (Austrian Film Institute) were invited to this forum. ) and Sara Manzanet Royo (Association of Women Filmmakers of Spain).