tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/female-representation-34025/articlesFemale representation – The Conversation2023-03-08T19:39:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2008442023-03-08T19:39:37Z2023-03-08T19:39:37ZThe marketing tricks that have kept Barbie’s brand alive for over 60 years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514011/original/file-20230307-16-wetih1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=235%2C84%2C3687%2C2547&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/penang-malaysia-26-dec-2018-barbie-1286874817">TY Lim/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rejected by the toy industry <a href="https://time.com/4197596/barbies-triumphs-and-controveries-57-years-of-highs-and-lows/">at first</a>, Barbie is now one of America’s <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/brandspark-most-trusted-brands-america-2022">most trusted brands</a>. “She” – the 11.5 inch blonde doll, but also her brand persona – generated worldwide sales of around <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/370361/gross-sales-of-mattel-s-barbie-brand/">US$1.5 billion</a> (£1.3 billion) in 2022, and has a <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1009126/barbie-brand-value-worldwide/">brand value</a> of US$590 million.</p>
<p>Barbie debuted on March 9 1959 at the New York International Toy Fair as Barbie Teenage Fashion Model. Sixty-four years later, the doll continues to be the subject of cultural, sociological and psychological interest. By creating an <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/How_Brands_Become_Icons.html?id=thiThfWnZ6UC&redir_esc=y">iconic brand</a> with special meaning for fans of all ages (<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/12/business/barbie-for-preschoolers/index.html">Barbie is marketed to children aged three and older</a>), toy company Mattel has successfully extended the lifecycle of the Barbie brand for well over half a century. </p>
<p>Barbie is also a polarising figure. The brand embodies the notion of a “<a href="https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1422&context=law_facpub">double bind</a>”, celebrated as an inspirational role model while at the same time <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4164067">blamed</a> for creating unrealistic expectations of women, particularly when it comes to how they should look. </p>
<p>But while most toys remain popular for only two or three years, Barbie’s long-term success reflects Mattel’s responsiveness and adaptability to the changing cultural and political discourse in society and around this doll. So how has the company done it?</p>
<h2>A Barbie girl, in a Barbie world</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0267257X.2013.764346">Research shows</a> there are many ways to build and sustain brand characters, but Mattel has used a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen-Brown-9/publication/233625831_Where_the_wild_brands_are_Some_thoughts_on_anthropomorphic_marketing/links/59cdf88fa6fdcce3b34b5cb8/Where-the-wild-brands-are-Some-thoughts-on-anthropomorphic-marketing.pdf?_sg%5B0%5D=started_experiment_milestone&origin=journalDetail&_rtd=e30%3D">“multiply” strategy</a> for Barbie. This has involved introducing other characters that play supporting roles in Barbie’s “world”.</p>
<p>Over the years, these supporting acts were introduced to portray Barbie’s relationship with friends and family. First there was Ken (1961), Barbie’s boyfriend, then her younger sister Skipper (1964), followed by friends including Midge (1963) and Christie (1968), the first black Barbie character. </p>
<p>The storylines and individual characteristics of these additional characters connect to Barbie’s persona and increase brand visibility. Mattel has also used storytelling tactics such as announcing that Barbie and Ken had officially broken up on Valentine’s Day in 2004 (<a href="https://ew.com/article/2011/02/14/ken-barbie-back-together-valentines-day/">they got back together in 2011</a>). Such stories resonate with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mar.21758">fans’ emotions</a>, sustaining interest in the brand.</p>
<p>These tactics typically work for a while, but how has Mattel sustained true <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/46/2/330/5253362?login=false">brand longevity</a> for this long? There are many strategies designed to <a href="https://www.academia.edu/35653109/Managing_brands_for_the_long_run_Brand_reinforcement_and_revitalization_strategies">revitalise mature brands</a>. Mattel successfully extended Barbie’s brand to capture new audiences, drive growth and expand into new types of products beyond dolls.</p>
<p>This is a risky endeavour if the brand is stretched too far. But Barbie’s brand has been successfully extended into other profitable categories such as clothes, accessories, cosmetics and entertainment (music, movies and games). And now, after several computer-animated, direct-to-video and streaming television films, Barbie’s first big budget, live action movie will be released in cinemas in July 2023.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8zIf0XvoL9Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Early reports suggest the movie – helmed by Oscar-nominee Greta Gerwig, who also directed Little Women (2019) and Lady Bird (2017) – is <a href="https://www.radiox.co.uk/news/tv-film/barbie-release-date-trailer-cast-age-rating-reviews/">likely to be rated PG-13</a>. This is not the “universal” rating you might expect for a film about a popular toy. It hints at another strand of Mattel’s successful Barbie branding strategy: nostalgia.</p>
<h2>Life in plastic, it’s fantastic</h2>
<p>Alongside ongoing efforts to appeal to young girls, Mattel also deliberately <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003282303-15/creating-collecting-curating-emily-aguil%C3%B3-p%C3%A9rez">targets older consumers</a>. Specific objects – not just toys but clothes, food such as sweets, or even items like vinyl records – can give a physical form to a set of attitudes, relationships and circumstances for people. This evokes a powerful <a href="https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/12098/volumes/sv06/SV%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%2006/full">sense of the past</a>. </p>
<p>This kind of nostalgia <a href="https://www.academia.edu/33508268/SPOKES_CHARACTERS_Creating_Character_Trust_and_Positive_Brand_Attitudes">generates trust</a> and positive attitudes towards a brand, influencing consumer preferences when it comes to choosing between toys. </p>
<p>In addition to the upcoming film, Mattel has attempted to capitalise on the nostalgia Barbie evokes in other ways. It sells more sophisticated designer and limited edition lines of <a href="https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/collectible-barbie-dolls-changes-773817">collectible dolls</a> aimed at adult fans, for example. These items are typically sold in speciality or boutique stores, and carry higher price tags than the average doll.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="New York City, New York/ USA - February 16, 2019: Toy Fair New York Barbie signage at the Jacob Javits Center" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=776%2C356%2C3919%2C2436&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513763/original/file-20230306-24-p5oooh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Barbie banner at the 2019 New York Toy Fair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-city-usa-february-16-1326790883">Sean P. Aune/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Criticism of Barbie</h2>
<p>As Barbie’s brand has expanded and evolved, the doll has also encountered criticism. Over the years, Barbie went through <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13504639851780">many transformations</a> to look more confident, and was marketed as having many life options, particularly when it comes to work. There are now Barbie dolls representing more than 200 careers – from astronaut, surgeon, paratrooper, game developer, architect and entrepreneur to film director and even US president.</p>
<p>But critics have argued that these career dolls are a “<a href="https://www.salon.com/2014/06/18/meet_entrepreneur_barbie_mattels_misfire_attempt_at_inspiring_girls/">misfire attempt at inspiring girls</a>”. This negative perception of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.21477">brand’s moral vision</a> is linked to the notion that Barbie is rooted in an ideal of femininity that still characterises women by their <a href="https://time.com/barbie-new-body-cover-story/">physical appearance</a>.</p>
<p>Barbie has been accused of promoting unrealistic body standards, stereotyping and objectification of women, as well as having a negative influence on girls’ self-esteem and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7210496_Does_Barbie_Make_Girls_Want_to_Be_Thin_The_Effect_of_Experimental_Exposure_to_Images_of_Dolls_on_the_Body_Image_of_5-_to_8-Year-Old_Girls">body image</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Toy Fair New York, Mattel Barbie dolls on display, New York City, February 24, 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513759/original/file-20230306-1354-r2pdab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mattel has attempted to address criticism of Barbie over the years, for example by giving consumers multiple career options to choose from.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-city-usa-february-24-1685825410">Sean P. Aune/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, faced with declining sales and competition from smaller brands offering dolls with more realistic body types (such as <a href="https://uk.lottie.com/">Lottie</a> and <a href="https://lammily.com/">Lammily</a>), Mattel launched “<a href="https://time.com/barbie-new-body-cover-story/">Project Dawn</a>” in 2016. This included the launch of Fashionistas, a line of Barbie dolls with <a href="https://theconversation.com/drastic-plastic-a-look-at-barbies-new-bodies-53877">different body types</a> (curvy, petite and tall) and abilities, skin tones and eye colours, as well as hairstyles and outfits. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144518302584">research suggested</a> that young girls aged between three and ten prefered the original tall and petite dolls. They were negative about “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-curvy-new-barbie-is-good-news-for-your-little-girl-55008">curvy</a>” Barbie, and this doll also received intense <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350510598_The_Politics_of_Barbie%27s_Curvy_New_Body_Marketing_Mattel%27s_Fashionistas_Line">public scrutiny</a>.</p>
<p>In 2017, Mattel took another significant step by introducing ethnically and racially diverse dolls of different nationalities, including the first <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/business/barbie-hijab-ibtihaj-muhammad.html">hijab-wearing Barbie doll</a>. However, <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/differences/article-abstract/6/1/46/301186/Dyes-and-Dolls-Multicultural-Barbie-and-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext">this approach prompted criticism</a> that Mattel was treating race and ethnic differences as “collectible”, and commodifying culture. </p>
<p>Despite this, Barbie continues to be a toy that many children play with. The longevity and iconic status of the doll is a tribute to Mattel’s astute marketing and reinvention efforts. These have helped the brand remain relevant even now, 64 years after it was launched.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200844/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sameer Hosany does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A branding expert explains how this iconic but controversial doll has gone from teenage reject to movie star in 64 years.Sameer Hosany, Professor of Marketing, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012712023-03-08T15:13:10Z2023-03-08T15:13:10ZFrench firms prioritising gender equality also reap higher returns<p>In early March, France’s first minister, Elisabeth Borne, announced that French companies failing to enforce the country’s gender equality criteria would be denied access to <a href="https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/egalite-femmes-hommes-les-entreprises-qui-ne-respectent-pas-la-parite-seront-ecartees-des-marches-publics-4571612">public contracts</a>. The news adds yet another line to an already long list of incentives to boost women’s standing in the workplace.</p>
<p>In recent years, research has increasingly shown filling one’s company’s top positions with women not only makes ethical sense, but business sense, too. In the UK, one <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2089">2020 paper</a> showed that the presence of women on executive boards significantly improved the performance of the country’s firms, in particular when three or more females were appointed and when they also held executive director positions. Another study on banks in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, found that entities with female CEOs invested <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1762">more in sustainable environmental initiatives</a>. And the former IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, in 2019, stated that closing the gender gap in employment could <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2019/03/pdf/fd0319.pdf">push up global GDP by 35%</a>.</p>
<p>Due to be published in the <a href="https://www.inderscience.com/jhome.php?jcode=ijcg"><em>International Journal of Corporate Governance</em></a> in the coming months, our latest paper confirms this trend. Surveying data from 228 nonfinancial French listed companies from 2018 to 2021, we found evidence that companies who scored higher on the country’s “Gender Equality Index” also fared better in markets.</p>
<h2>The French equality index</h2>
<p>To boost women’s status in the workplace, the French government passed a law in September 2018 compelling companies with at least 50 employees to communicate information on gender equality. Taking its name from the then-Labour minister, Muriel Pénicaud (2017-2020), the Pénicaud index – also known as the equality index – obliges them to publish data on:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The difference in total remuneration between women and men weighted by grade and age group;</p></li>
<li><p>Difference in the rates of salary increases between men and women;</p></li>
<li><p>Difference in the promotion rates between men and women;</p></li>
<li><p>Salary increases for employees returning from maternity leave;</p></li>
<li><p>Gender balance of the top 10 highest-paid employees.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The availability of such information implies that French companies’ track record on gender equality is subject to public scrutiny, which can in turn affect investor confidence.</p>
<h2>Gender index has spurred positive change</h2>
<p>On the one hand, the results of our research are encouraging. The average Pénicaud Index for the surveyed firm is 84 points out of 100. In addition, we note that the equality index has increased over time, evidence that firms are willing to continuously improve female conditions. From this perspective, the effect of this law seems to be going in line with the government’s expectations. In <a href="https://www.elle.fr/Societe/Interviews/Violence-retraite-education-Elisabeth-Borne-repond-a-ELLE-4110102">her interview with <em>Elle</em> on 1 March</a>, Borne effectively stressed the equality index’s main objective was not to punish firms, but to provide them with an incentive to change their policies and behaviours toward greater gender equality in the workplace.</p>
<p>And yet, we also believe there is significant room for improvement. If we look at the latest report, for example, we find only 2% of firms scored the maximum mark and a mere 61% provided their data on time. 2,354 firms obtained zero on the score on maternity leave.</p>
<p>There are some low-hanging fruit that companies can easily seize upon to boost their gender score. Take the one common blind spot which we observed among firms performing just below the maximum score of 100 points: female representation in the 10 highest-paid employees. Global consultancy group Keyrus SA scored 90 out of 100 in 2021, <a href="https://keyrus.com/fr/fr/insights/index-egalite-professionnelle-femmes-hommes">losing 5 out of 10 points</a> in this area. That was also the case that year with the country’s energy provider, EDF, which clinched the maximum score in four out of the five categories included in the equality index, but failed to have a single woman to show in its <a href="https://www.edf.fr/edf-recrute/nos-actualites-rh/edf-sa-publie-un-index-de-legalite-a-90-points-au-titre-de-2021">10 highest-paid employees</a>. Women were also nowhere to be found in the highest earners of the country’s most popular TV channel, TF1, causing it to stagnate at <a href="https://groupe-tf1.fr/fr/engaements-rse/nos-actions/diversit%C3%A9">85 out of 100</a>.</p>
<p>Such figures make clear that, notwithstanding companies’ efforts to boost gender equality in the workplace, corporate leadership remains the preserve of a small male elite. This is also the conclusion of a recent <a href="https://europeanwomenonboards.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/France-Country-report-2021.pdf">report by the European Women on Boards Association</a>, which shows that, while boards of French firms lead the European Union in terms of female representation (45% on average of board members in France are females), only 15% of firms can boast female Chief Financial Officer and only 8%, a female Chief Executive Officer.</p>
<p>This is too bad, as firms prioritising gender equality tend to accrue significant financial benefits from it. In fact, our research finds a positive association between companies with higher values for their equality index and their market valuation and return on equity. The graph reports a simplified illustration about the association between one of the measures of market performance used in our research, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobin%27s_q">Tobin’s Q</a>, and the equality index of French firms. The trend line in black highlight the positive association between these two variables.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514053/original/file-20230307-2056-njh8np.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Graph association between market performance and equality index.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, our analyses prove that independent auditors associated a lower audit risk (i.e., the risk that the annual report contains material errors) to companies with greater gender equality performance.</p>
<p>Our results encourage firms to give women the keys of companies’ C-suite, which remain stubbornly male-oriented even though the evidence indicates this is not in companies’ best interest. We also hope that the agendas of legislators and regulatory bodies keep promoting and enforcing gender equality across sectors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201271/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Research shows French firms with smaller to no gender wage gap and high female board representation also make better business.Domenico Campa, Associate Professor of Accounting, International University of MonacoMara Cameran, Researcher in financial accounting, Bocconi UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1101722019-01-21T18:41:16Z2019-01-21T18:41:16ZThe Liberal Party is failing women miserably compared to other democracies, and needs quotas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254691/original/file-20190121-100279-1g2j4wu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kelly O'Dwyer last week announced she would not be re-contesting her seat of Higgins at the 2019 elections.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Ellen Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Look around the world this week and you see women exercising power and influence everywhere. In the United States, House Speaker <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/why-nancy-pelosi-wont-compromise-border-wall/580516/">Nancy Pelosi is wrangling US President Donald Trump</a> over his shutdown of federal government. In the UK, Prime Minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/20/theresa-may-cross-party-consensus-brexit-backstop-tory-split">Theresa May doggedly pursues Brexit</a>. Yvette Cooper, chair of the British Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee and described by some as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-deal-vote-theresa-may-second-referendum-vote-election-yvette-cooper-a8736216.html">the Labour opposition’s “alternative leader”, is bringing forward legislation</a> to try to head off a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-hard-soft-what-is-the-difference-uk-eu-single-market-freedom-movement-theresa-may-a7342591.html">“hard” Brexit</a>.</p>
<p>In Germany, CDU leader and likely Angela Merkel successor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/18/germany-politicians-business-leaders-letter-brexit-the-times">Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer co-authored a public letter to the British people</a> urging them to remain in the European Union. And from New Zealand, Prime Minister <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/20/whatever-britain-decides-new-place-world-new-zealand-stands/">Jacinda Ardern wrote a comment piece</a> for the London <em>Telegraph</em> expressing solidarity whichever way Britain goes. </p>
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<p>And in Australia? Reportage involving senior women in politics is dominated by Morrison government cabinet minister <a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-odwyers-decision-turns-the-spotlight-onto-bishop-110159">Kelly O’Dwyer quitting</a> her prime Melbourne seat of Higgins, fellow Liberal <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/fresh-talent-liberal-senator-jane-hume-bails-out-of-race-to-replace-kelly-o-dwyer-20190121-p50slm.html">Senator Jane Hume ruling out running for it</a>, and speculation about <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2019/01/19/rumours-of-julie-bishop-quitting-parliament/">whether or not former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will, like O’Dwyer, quit politics</a> at the forthcoming federal election too. It is a sharp contrast. What is going on?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-odwyers-decision-turns-the-spotlight-onto-bishop-110159">View from The Hill: O'Dwyer's decision turns the spotlight onto Bishop</a>
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<p>The UK has already had two female prime ministers in May (since 2016) and Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) – the latter, after Winston Churchill, the most significant British prime minister of the 20th century. This is not to say politics is easy for women in Britain – far from it. Political <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/theresa-may-faces-more-gender-based-abuse-than-jeremy-corbyn-report/">attacks on May are three-times as likely to be gender-based</a> as those on Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/world/europe/jeremy-corbyn-theresa-may-stupid-woman.html">Claims Corbyn called May a “stupid woman” in parliament</a> got traction because of the widely perceived implicit sexism of Corbyn-era Labour, which tends to be overshadowed by <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45030552">controversy over its more blatant antisemitism</a>. Female MPs come under sustained social media attacks of the most violent and reprehensible kind, something Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Jess Phillips have campaigned against prominently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/28/yvette-cooper-twitter-response-rape-threats">again</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/18/vile-online-abuse-against-women-mps-needs-to-be-challenged-now">again</a>.</p>
<p>It is in this climate that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/23/thomas-mair-found-guilty-of-jo-cox-murder">Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered</a> by white supremacist Thomas Mair during the Brexit referendum campaign in 2016.</p>
<p>But while politics is incredibly tough for women in Britain, they hang in and fight on, across the political spectrum. This is because in Britain women’s presence in politics has been normalised. There’s no sending them back to the kitchen. To an extent which should not be necessary, they are battle-hardened. Male opponents know they will not go away.</p>
<p>Equally in the US, women in politics will not be seen off. The pronounced misogyny of President Donald Trump stirred rather than cowed women who stormed the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/18/record-number-women-in-congress/">creating an all-time high in congresswomen’s numbers</a>.</p>
<p>Democrat Nancy Pelosi prevailed against significant internal challenge and external opposition to be elected Speaker. From this position she is prominently calling Trump’s bluff and, since the government shutdown, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/pelosi-is-winning-battle-with-trump-because-she-s-better-at-her-job-20190121-p50skx.html">bettering him in the rhetorical struggle for decent government</a>.</p>
<p>In New Zealand, women in politics has long been business as usual. Ardern, elected in 2017, is the country’s third woman prime minister after Helen Clark (1999-2008) and Jenny Shipley (1997-1999). One could go on and on, citing the normalisation of women in politics in Sri Lanka, India, Israel, Iceland, Denmark, Pakistan, Indonesia, Canada, Germany and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Women have, often with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/quotas-are-not-pretty-but-they-work-liberal-women-should-insist-on-them-103517">help of quotas</a>, been accepted as regulars in political battle in all these places, sometimes rising to the political equivalent of generals and supreme commanders just like the men, many of whom might not like it but know it is an inescapable – and, in fact, reasonable - part of contemporary life.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quotas-are-not-pretty-but-they-work-liberal-women-should-insist-on-them-103517">Quotas are not pretty but they work – Liberal women should insist on them</a>
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<p>The military metaphor is unfortunate, but in this context useful to explain through analogy what is going on by contrast with women in the senior levels of the Morrison government.</p>
<p>May and Pelosi are playing the long game – operating strategically – in pursuit of specific political outcomes irrespective of the extra, gendered-tier of political attack to which they are subject. They do this in the confidence that women in their parties and parliaments are political “regulars”, in the business of politics for good.</p>
<p>In Australia, the presence of women in politics has been normalised other than in the Liberal and National parties. Labor’s Julia Gillard was prime minister from 2010 to 2013. If Labor’s sustained poll lead holds through to election day, Opposition deputy-leader Tanya Plibersek is likely to become deputy prime minister this year. The Greens have been, and before them the Australian Democrats were more often than not, led by women. Australia’s flagship far right-winger, Pauline Hanson, is a woman. </p>
<p>But to be a woman in the Liberal or National parties is still to be a political “irregular” – one of a group of resented interlopers, tiny in number, whom many male colleagues hope can be driven away.</p>
<p>Female LNP leavers manifest this – not just O’Dwyer and, likely, the prominently-snubbed Bishop when her decision finally crystallises – but those like Julia Banks who have <a href="https://theconversation.com/liberal-julia-banks-defects-to-crossbench-as-scott-morrison-confirms-election-in-may-107715">left the Liberal Party</a> and gone to the crossbench, and Liberal fellow travellers like Cathy McGowan and Kerryn Phelps who sit as independents alongside her. </p>
<p>It seems the position of women in the Liberal and National parties is too fragile, too brittle, for them to stand and fight like regulars. Rather, like guerillas on the wrong end of the power asymmetry women face within the Morrison government, they are withdrawing from the battlefield. It will be up to others to stand and fight another day. </p>
<p>That fight cannot be won without critical mass. Women in the Liberal and National parties need to embrace quotas and they need to do it now. They will never be numerous enough to achieve the status of “regulars” reached by women in most of the rest of the democratic world otherwise.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110172/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wallace receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The departure of Liberal women is a sign that they have always been outsiders within the party, and by world standards the gender imbalance is stark and woefully out of touch.Chris Wallace, ARC DECRA Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1029882018-09-13T20:32:40Z2018-09-13T20:32:40ZYear 11 and 12 students in NSW will no longer learn about women’s contributions to physics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236148/original/file-20180913-133895-baz8wb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need female role models in the NSW physics syllabus to normalise women in physics and encourage their engagement and further study.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The new Higher School Certificate (HSC) physics syllabus for NSW will contain no mention of the contributions of female physicists to the field. Not teaching students about their contributions to the field denies young women role models, and denies all students important knowledge about physics. </p>
<p>An education system which simultaneously claims to <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/secretary-update/international-womens-day2">praise women in STEM</a>, yet erases them from a physics syllabus cannot be seen as thorough. This needs to be fixed before long lasting damage is done to Australia’s next generation of scientists. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-says-the-gender-gap-in-science-could-take-generations-to-fix-95150">New study says the gender gap in science could take generations to fix</a>
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<p>Physics has a multitude of female physicists to celebrate. These outstanding women could inspire passion in young female students, while providing all students with a broader perspective of the universe we all call home. </p>
<h2>Complete deletion, really?</h2>
<p>In 2018, NSW introduced a new <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=499263222898931;res=IELHSS">HSC physics syllabus</a>, which focuses on complex topics such as thermodynamics and quantum physics, and requires a more technical understanding of physics concepts. It focuses on the physics itself and its modern usage, rather than how we discovered and developed physics in the first place. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/stage-6-science/physics">outgoing syllabus</a> includes more background and the history of the development of physics. The discoveries women have contributed to the field are taught in this syllabus, but it fails to identify a single woman by name in the 47 scientists mentioned 93 times.</p>
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<p>The <a href="http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/stage-6-science/physics-2017">new syllabus</a> has 25 scientists mentioned 56 times. But no women are referred to by name, nor are any contributions women have made to physics included.</p>
<p>This new syllabus focuses completely on male physicists and their work. Women have been and continue to be told physics is primarily a male endeavour. </p>
<h2>You can’t be what you can’t see</h2>
<p>Science is filled with interesting characters, insights and discoveries. Teaching about a scientist or their work celebrates their contributions, highlights their efforts and recognises how they influenced and developed knowledge.</p>
<p>The new syllabus fails to provide female role models. Role models <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361684313482109">are important</a> because they foster pro-science aspirations and attitudes. This is true for both women <em>and</em> men, but young girls miss out if we only provide students with male role models. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hunt-for-the-superstars-of-stem-to-engage-more-women-in-science-76854">The hunt for the Superstars of STEM to engage more women in science</a>
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<p>This syllabus conveys the message that female physicists aren’t significant enough to mention. This is not only incorrect, but discouraging to female students. When we focus entirely on male scientists, we devalue women and their work in this field.</p>
<h2>Remarkable female scientists</h2>
<p>There are many examples of outstanding women that could have been included in the syllabus. Each have made major contributions to their field. Students would benefit greatly from learning about these women (plus many others) and their work in physics lessons. Here are four examples of bad-arse female physicists:</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236120/original/file-20180913-133889-rrrjo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Ruby Payne-Scott was an Australian radio astronomer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Hall/</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p><strong>Ruby Payne-Scott</strong> </p>
<p>Australia’s own Ruby Payne-Scott was one of the first radio astronomers in the world. Payne-Scott was at the forefront of radio astronomy in the 1940s. She developed techniques that have defined the field and her work made Australia the global leader it is today. Payne-Scott even discovered <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/CH/CH9490214">three types of radiation bursts</a> coming from the sun. </p>
<p><strong>Professor Marie Curie</strong></p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236122/original/file-20180913-133904-9agq2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Marie Curie is one of the most well-known female physicists.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Dual Nobel laureate, Professor Marie Curie started the field of radioactivity. Her work included the discovery of two new radioactive elements, which was only possible because of her impeccable experimental skills. Her research of radioactivity is still influencing physics. Her notebooks are still radioactive and will likely be for the next 1,500 years.</p>
<p><strong>Dr Rosalind Franklin</strong></p>
<p>Dr Rosalind Franklin’s unique approach to X-Ray crystallography was the first successful research delving into the structure of our cells. This helped us understand the double helix structure of DNA. Her work was revolutionary but <a href="https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.1570771">has been attributed to Watson and Crick</a>, who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236121/original/file-20180913-133874-ilhwgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell is an astrophysicist who discovered a new type of star.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">William Murphy/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p><strong>Dame Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell</strong></p>
<p>Dame <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06210-w">Professor Jocelyn Bell-Burnell</a> discovered an entirely new type of star called pulsars on a radio telescope she essentially made herself while she was a PhD student. These rapidly rotating neutron stars changed what astronomers thought possible and is still an active area of research. Bell-Burnell originally called them LGM for <a href="http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/07/jocelyn-bell-burnell-reflects-discovery-pulsars">Little Green Men</a> as she did not want to rule out the fact the source could have come from alien life forms.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-inequalities-in-science-wont-self-correct-its-time-for-action-99452">Gender inequalities in science won't self-correct: it's time for action</a>
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<p>Teaching our students women have had and continue to have no role in physics is not only incorrect, it’s harmful. We need equal representation to normalise women in physics and encourage their engagement and further study. A syllabus that correctly represents people in the field of physics can help <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008876/">reduce unconscious bias</a> and demonstrate to young women there’s a place for them in this field.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new physics syllabus for year 11 and 12 students in NSW contains no mention of specific women who have contributed to the field, nor their work.Kathryn Ross, Researcher at Sydney University Physics Education Research Group, University of SydneyTom Gordon, Senior Science Communicator, PhD candidate Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) group, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/883012017-11-29T00:48:08Z2017-11-29T00:48:08ZThe 2017 ARIA Awards are still off-key when it comes to gender<p>The Australian music industry has spent the last few years taking a long hard look at the position of women in music in this country. And while women such as Amy Shark, Sia and Kasey Chambers did well at the 2017 ARIA Awards on Tuesday night, there was a lot left to be desired. </p>
<p>It’s telling that even the key male winners from the night, including Gang of Youths, Paul Kelly and Harry Styles, were overshadowed by Kirin J. Callinan exposing his genitals on the red carpet, an action that showed extraordinary tone-deafness at a time when men’s inappropriate sexual behaviour in the entertainment industries is under the spotlight.</p>
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<p>The damning figures about low representation of women across the industry, whether it be in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/by-the-numbers-the-gender-gap-in-the-australian-music-industry/8328952">artist royalties, airplay, representation on boards</a>, or membership of <a href="http://apraamcos.com.au/about-us/gender-diversity/">key music organisations</a> have by this point been detailed at <a href="http://musicaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017-Contemporary-Music-Roundtable-Program-1.pdf">summits</a>, <a href="http://facethemusic.org.au/session/women-in-electronic-music/">conferences</a> and <a href="http://www.listenlistenlisten.org/conference/">activist events</a>. It is now well established that women are not sharing the benefits of this industry in a way that comes anywhere close to being equal.</p>
<p>We should examine this year’s ARIA awards with this in mind. </p>
<h2>And the nominees are…</h2>
<p>To begin with, the nominations reveal where women can participate and where their contribution is valued. Across the awards for Australian artists, women or bands with a female member received fewer than one in three nominations in 2017. There’s been no improvement in this measure for the last two years.</p>
<p>These numbers are better than some of the worst years of ARIA nominations this decade, such as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3869715.htm">2013</a> where only nine nominations were given to women for awards outside the Best Female Artist category.</p>
<p>Looking at the categories that women were nominated in provides further insights. There were only four categories out of 18 where women outnumbered men (excluding Best Female Artist). Women had four out of five nominations for Best Pop Release, and three out of five in the Breakthrough Artist category, Best Country and Best Children’s Album. Men outnumbered women in 12 categories where they could both be nominated. In the worst of these, women had no nominations at all in Best Group, Dance Release, Adult Contemporary album or Hard Rock/Heavy Metal album. </p>
<p>This shows the continued fault lines in the industry that see women relegated to certain roles and excluded from others. Pop has long been an area where women do well. Despite recent moves towards a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockism_and_poptimism">“poptimist” outlook</a> in valuing its worth, the genre has gained the least critical acclaim and has often been dismissed as overly commercial and lightweight. </p>
<p>By contrast, “heavier” forms of music, and those played by bands have been strongly gendered as masculine. While women make up a large proportion of the fanbase for metal and rock, they have struggled to make headway in these genres as performers. At the same time, these are the types of music that are considered more “real”, serious and worthy of taking seriously. </p>
<p>The failure of women to appear in the nominations for dance music highlights another area where women have struggled to make inroads. On the one hand, this shows a continued disconnect between women and <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-sound-addressing-the-music-industrys-gender-gap-85132">music technology</a>, and with technology more broadly. </p>
<p>However, dance music culture has proven more resistant than other areas in music to incursions by women, with dance music festivals having <a href="http://data.huffingtonpost.com/music-festivals">lower representation </a>of women than other types of festivals.</p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>So in some ways, the distribution of the nominations reflects ongoing issues, with some genres remaining significantly male-dominated. Despite this, questions need to be asked about the ARIA nomination processes that resulted in these four categories having no women. Something is off here, whether it be an issue in the practices of music making that sees women still not allowed into certain spaces, or issues with how awards are handed out. </p>
<p>On the night, the number of winners who were women reflected the proportion of women nominated - six of the 18 awards for Australian artists went to women (including Best Female). Given the nomination pool, this is what might be expected, and again is an improvement on some past years, but it is still unsatisfactory.</p>
<p>Given that we know there is a gender representation problem in the industry, an easy place to start making fixes is to put women on stage at high-profile events, at least as often as their male counterparts. </p>
<p>But similar to the nominations, only a third of the performers at this year’s ARIAs were women. This was one place where ARIA had the ability to do better - especially in the current climate of close attention being paid to issues of gender. A 50-50 split here would have been easy to achieve and would have made a statement about the industry’s commitment to fixing this problem.</p>
<p>This is particularly disappointing in a year that in many other ways saw progress being made in the inclusion of people of colour, particularly Indigenous performers such as A.B. Original. </p>
<p>Change happens slowly in the music industry, and focus on issues of representation needs to be maintained year after year to see meaningful and lasting shifts take place. Some organisations such as <a href="http://apraamcos.com.au/about-us/what-we-do/">APRA AMCOS</a> and <a href="http://www.musicvictoria.com.au/">Music Victoria</a> have stepped up to start making changes (for example, by <a href="http://www.musicvictoria.com.au/about/gender-diversity">introducing quotas</a>, and putting money into <a href="http://apraamcos.com.au/news/2017/november/female-songwriters-apply-for-mentoring-across-musical-genres/">mentoring schemes</a>). </p>
<p>So the challenge is on. Let’s see how the 2018 ARIAs fare.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88301/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Strong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why, in 2017, are women still falling behind in the ARIA awards: in nominations, winners, and performances?Catherine Strong, Senior Lecturer, Music Industry, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/810952017-07-17T05:13:20Z2017-07-17T05:13:20ZFinally, the first female Doctor Who<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178385/original/file-20170717-14315-1cnwpvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC/IMDB</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s official. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-named-first-female-doctor/8713964">English actor Jodie Whittaker</a> will be the 13th actor, and first female, to play the Doctor in Doctor Who. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2092886/">Highly accomplished</a> and already beloved by many, Whittaker is also not too famous yet – a perfect mix that means her reputation won’t overshadow the character itself.</p>
<p>The casting of a new lead in Doctor Who tends to always make news, but this time, Whittaker’s gender is attracting attention. The debate about the Doctor’s human (gendered) form has raged <a href="https://theconversation.com/enough-with-the-doctor-who-gender-debate-its-time-72262">well before now</a>, but until the announcement was actually made I think many were unsure it could happen. A casting change of this type can ruffle feathers – perhaps so much so that the audience flees the nest.</p>
<h2>Reactions to the female lead</h2>
<p>The most entertaining part of the announcement so far has been the online reactions. Many collated <a href="http://junkee.com/roasting-sexist-doctor-who-fans/113199">Twitter threads</a> have already been circulated by the <a href="http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-07-16/change-my-dears-and-not-a-moment-too-soon-colin-baker-billie-piper-and-doctor-who-stars-celebrate-first-female-doctor">local and international media</a>; showing a mixture of extreme reactions and less than gentle ribbing of those on each side of the debate. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"886723006461952000"}"></div></p>
<p>Can a character traditionally imagined by a male actor suddenly be taken on by a female one? What does gender even mean for a creature with two hearts, the power to regenerate and experience traveling through time and space?</p>
<p>Whittaker herself has only made short statements so far, asserting her multifaceted position clearly. Notably, she was <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/07/17/feminist-woman-jodie-whittaker-excited-be-new-doctor-who">reported as saying of her casting</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It feels completely overwhelming, as a feminist, as a woman, as an actor, as a human, as someone who wants to continually push themselves and challenge themselves, and not be boxed in by what you’re told you can and can’t be.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>It’s just a TV show – why make it political?</h2>
<p>Once Whittaker’s comment dropped the “F” bomb (ie: feminism), the surge of online responses started to swell. Some have suggested the change will make the television show “too political”. However to suggest that television isn’t political (or shouldn’t be), does the medium and its audience an injustice. As the most accessible, most freely available media outlet in the world, television engages with politics by its very existence. As iconic television scholar and critic Raymond Williams once called it, television is both a “technology and cultural form”.</p>
<p>Whether we like it or not, all media representations are political. That is, they help us understand the way power works in the world. This isn’t just what we see on our screens – but just as importantly – what we don’t see. Viewers of different ages, nationalities, personality types and genders should all have the chance to see themselves every once and a while. </p>
<p>And the joy of the Doctor character and Doctor Who franchise is that a casting change is just that – a change, not a loss. If you still feel more represented by Tom Baker than Matt Smith, then that’s fine. No one’s lost forever – a trick that producers of the show for decades have played with as “old doctors” return in various forms.</p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<p>Diversity is not just good for minorities. Doctor Who’s companions, the characters who travel with the Doctor, have increasingly been played by men. Recent male companions like Matt Lucas’ Nardole, Bernard Cribbins’ Wilf or Arthur Darvill’s Rory provided a depth for male characters that television rarely shows – featuring those who may not always want to be the focus or who may not feel the most confident.</p>
<p>Would a female Doctor work with a male companion? No reason why not. Or even more radical – what about two women leading the charge? Intergalactic adventures through all of time and space - all the while meeting the <a href="http://bechdeltest.com/">Bechdel Test</a>, which measures female representation on screen. Imagine how great that would be.</p>
<h2>So what’s next – a female James Bond?</h2>
<p>It’s really up to the makers of the James Bond franchise to decide if the character can be played by a woman. James Bond is a fictional human man – which would make having a female actor play the part quite difficult – but not impossible.</p>
<p>For example, when Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368794/">I’m Not There</a>, not only did she nail it, she was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe. Traditionally “male heroes” can be done justice by incredible women, too. I’m pretty sure the actual Dylan didn’t mind too much, nor did his legacy take a hit. Clearly it’s just about getting the right woman for the job.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/roj1BQWCsuo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>As a Lady Doctor myself (a PhD, so close enough to the Time Lord!) - I’d like to welcome Whittaker to the club and offer a bit of advice. The tide is turning and the loudest voices online do not always represent the most valid. But you may also have a bit of a tough ride to begin. So, here goes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dear Jodie,
</p>
Welcome to the world of being a Lady Doctor! It’s fun, but it can also be a bit exhausting at times - mostly having to explain that your gender identity isn’t the most interesting thing about you, but also that you don’t need to apologise for it and its distinctiveness. Remember, you’re not replacing or competing, but expanding the possibilities. Good luck!<p></p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Jodie Whittaker will be the 13th, and first female, Doctor Who, an announcement that has been a long time coming.Liz Giuffre, Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/801422017-07-03T20:10:04Z2017-07-03T20:10:04ZHow to reduce sexism in screenplays<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175778/original/file-20170627-29117-fipvm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1777%2C760&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sandra Bullock in Gravity (2013) portrayed a female protagonist well, but the industry has a long way to go.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/mediaviewer/rm2656034304">Warner Bros.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before cameras even begin to roll, female characters suffer sexism in how they are described on the pages of screenplays. But what can we do to improve this?</p>
<p>In <a href="http://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/506">Hollywood scripts</a>, male characters are commonly named and described expansively, whereas female characters are often unnamed, highly sexualised, infantalised and meagrely described. Research also shows that male characters <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/%7E/media/MDSCI/Inequality%20in%20700%20Popular%20Films%2081415.ashx">dominate time on screen</a>, <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/41679911?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">dialogue on screen</a>, and <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-dollar-and-cents-case-against-hollywoods-exclusion-of-women/">narrative action</a>.</p>
<p>How characters are described in screenplays matters, because it impacts on production practices, the nature of workplaces, the films produced, and the gender representations we see daily on our screens.</p>
<p>The problems of male domination on our screens and behind the scenes are systemic, institutionalised and widespread. They are not caused or even demonstrated by any individual screenplay or screenwriter, but the solutions can begin at this level.</p>
<h2>How to write female characters in screenplays</h2>
<p>The good news is that although sexist descriptions of female characters are common in Hollywood scripts, some recent scripts - including those featuring strong female protagonists and written by men - describe male and female characters in similar ways. They include the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiIhIfamNDUAhWBvbwKHUOGD6IQFggiMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pages.drexel.edu%2F%7Eina22%2Fsplaylib%2FScreenplay-Gravity.pdf&usg=AFQjCNE8U2MMIEjHAkjgMYTpWP23P9Qi7w">screenplay</a> for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468">Gravity</a> (2013) by Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron, and the <a href="http://d97a3ad6c1b09e180027-5c35be6f174b10f62347680d094e609a.r46.cf2.rackcdn.com/film_scripts/FSP3824_WILD_SCRIPT_BOOK_C3.pdf">screenplay</a> for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051">Wild</a> by Nick Hornby.</p>
<p>Still, they are exceptions. Here, then, are four simple ways screenwriters can counter gender bias in screenplays. Producers, directors and script assessors can also request to see these principles applied in the scripts they read.</p>
<h2>1. Give female characters names.</h2>
<p>Female characters in screenplays are named less often than male characters; they are more likely to simply be given a title such as Mother, Wife, Daughter, or Little Hottie (as Peter Landesman names a character in the <a href="http://focusguilds2014.com/workspace/media/kill-the-messenger-screenplay.pdf">opening pages</a> of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216491/">Kill the Messenger</a>, 2014).</p>
<p>Performers are usually paid more to play a named character, so naming characters in screenplays can also help address the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2015/11/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-hollywood-pay-gap/#62750cc85cf1">gender pay gap</a> <a href="http://time.com/money/4207416/hollywood-wage-gap/">for performers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175773/original/file-20170627-29117-1cww618.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Anna Simons in Kill the Messenger (2014). Anna is described in the screenplay as ‘Editor, pretty, 35, harried, unmarried,’ but some minor female characters are not even given a name.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216491/mediaviewer/rm3357591296">Sierra / Affinity</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Give female names to lines of dialogue and actions.</h2>
<p>If you’ve got a line of dialogue, even a minor one, assign it a female name by default. <a href="https://seejane.org/symposiums-on-gender-in-media/gender-bias-without-borders/">Only 10% of films have a gender-balanced cast</a>, so giving minor lines of dialogue to female characters will ameliorate the balance of <a href="https://seejane.org/research-informs-empowers/data/">who speaks on screen</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, if you’ve got an action, assign it a female name by default, because this can mitigate the male dominance of <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/%7E/media/MDSCI/Inequality%20in%20700%20Popular%20Films%2081415.ashx">screen time</a> and <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-dollar-and-cents-case-against-hollywoods-exclusion-of-women/">narrative action</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Give all characters a similar amount of description when you introduce them.</h2>
<p><a href="http://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/506">Female characters</a> are usually given less character description than male ones. Often female characters are afforded no character description at all. </p>
<p>For example, Nancy (played by Sienna Miller) appears on about 20 pages of the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwj_p5CEguXUAhVFVbwKHWCqBxkQFggxMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sonyclassics.com%2Fawards-information%2Ffoxcatcher_screenplay.pdf&usg=AFQjCNENtO5KOZ7jTqqf7ezZ-8v0Muzb2g">script </a>for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1100089/">Foxcatcher</a> (2014) by E Max Frye and Dan Futterman, but she is never given any character description, unlike the male characters. </p>
<p>It’s not hard to give a roughly equal amount of description to male and female characters. </p>
<p>If your approach to character description is minimalist, that’s fine – just apply it evenly, as in the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&ved=0ahUKEwi1v_CildDUAhUBVbwKHRhUBHcQFgheMAs&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paramountguilds.com%2Fpdf%2Fnebraska_screenplay.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFszpxhNUZnd66fkxyUwqglw9GFWw&cad=rja">screenplay</a> for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821549/">Nebraska</a> (2013) written by Bob Nelson. Nelson might give a character’s rough age or describe what they wear, but the description focuses primarily on their actions - for male and female characters.</p>
<p>If your approach to character description is more fulsome, apply that to male and female characters alike, as in the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjGlpOTltDUAhVLf7wKHQWIBhEQFghAMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.screencraft.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F01%2FAugust-Osage-County.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFPU7KIhDFNm1adBYdAGUXQAZntxw">screenplay</a> for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504832/">August Osage County</a> (2013) written by Tracy Letts. For example, Letts introduces Mattie Fae and Charles:
“MATTIE FAE AIKEN, sixty-one, Violet’s baby sister, larger than life, is in the passenger seat. CHARLIE, Mattie Fae’s husband, easy-going, is behind the wheel.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175771/original/file-20170627-2582-tlvkp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Julianne Nicholson in ensemble drama August: Osage County (2013)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1322269/mediaviewer/rm1069928448">Weinstein Company</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Describe a female character’s personality and attitude.</h2>
<p>Female characters are more likely to be <a href="http://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/506">described solely in terms of their appearance</a>; male characters are more likely to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/sexist-screen-representations-of-women-start-in-the-script-55022">described in terms of their personality, attitudes, motivations, and esteem</a>.</p>
<p>Female characters, even young ones, are also far more likely to be <a href="https://seejane.org/symposiums-on-gender-in-media/gender-bias-without-borders/">sexualised on screen</a> and <a href="http://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/506">sexualised in their descriptions in screenplays</a>. </p>
<p>Describing the way <em>all</em> characters look (you’re writing for visual media) and something about their personality or attitude will counter these troubling trends.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175776/original/file-20170627-29070-1so6dtd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wild (2014) featured Reese Witherspoon as its protagonist, author and hiker Cheryl Strayed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/mediaviewer/rm3181836544">Bob Industries</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Geena Davis, Oscar-winning actress and founder of the <a href="https://seejane.org/">Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media</a>, suggests a further <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/geena-davis-two-easy-steps-664573">guideline</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When describing a crowd scene, write in the script, ‘A crowd gathers, which is half female.’ That may seem weird, but I promise you, somehow or other on the set that day the crowd will turn out to be 17 percent female otherwise.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Representation matters</h2>
<p>If screenwriters followed these simple guidelines, it would improve working conditions for performers and production staff, it would humanise the women and girls we see on screen, and it might help the way audiences think about their own gender identity and relations.</p>
<p>While you’re improving how female characters are written in your scripts, look for opportunities to write in and write well other people who are traditionally marginalised by screen industries: people of colour, indigenous people, people with disabilities, working class people, people in poverty, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people.</p>
<p>Following these simple guidelines might even make your screenplay a better read than the competition, and help get it made.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Radha O'Meara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Only 10% of films have a gender-balanced cast, and getting more women on screens starts with the screenwriters. The solution can be as simple as giving minor characters female names.Radha O'Meara, Lecturer in Screenwriting, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/699732016-12-07T03:18:40Z2016-12-07T03:18:40ZWhy the next editor-in-chief at The Age should be a woman<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148985/original/image-20161207-15334-19if65b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Despite its progressive nature, The Age newspaper has never had a female editor-in-chief.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mal Fairclough</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/mark-forbes-apologises-quits-as-the-age-editorinchief-after-harassment-probe/news-story/041ce8ad3ba182ff90e7e75e0cb0febc">departing words</a> of The Age’s editor-in-chief, Mark Forbes, who resigned this week amid allegations of sexual harassment, spoke to a gender ideal at a time of reputational damage for the newspaper: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… our dealings with all women must be respectful and equitable at all times.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These words reflect the socially progressive agenda (relative to the times) of the 159-year-old masthead from the days of the Syme brothers to the digital age. Yet, as progressive as The Age can be, why has it never had a female editor-in-chief?</p>
<p>The answer is clearly more complex than the paper’s editorial position. It leads to a much broader conversation about gender representation in Australia’s public and private institutions.</p>
<h2>Australia trails the world</h2>
<p>This conversation coincides with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-woman-in-charge-susan-kiefel-to-become-chief-justice-of-the-high-court-69558">recent appointment</a> of Susan Kiefel to be Australia’s first female High Court chief justice in 113 years. Like the ascension of Australia’s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, in 2010, Kiefel’s new role sends a signal to other women and girls that such career heights can be achieved.</p>
<p>But, as significant as these are, they do not erase the fact that women remain systemically under-represented at the top levels of our most powerful institutions – including the media, universities, government, judiciary and corporate sector.</p>
<p>Take Australia’s federal parliament, for example. There, female representation is <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-look-overseas-for-ideas-to-increase-its-number-of-women-mps-63522">low by world standards</a>. </p>
<p>Australia’s ranking of <a href="http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm">50th in the world</a> for the representation of women in parliament is behind countries like Algeria (37th) and Ethiopia (17th). </p>
<p>Rwanda leads the world, with 64% of its parliamentarians also women. Rwanda’s success in getting women elected is driven by gender quotas – at least 30% of seats are reserved for female candidates.</p>
<p>After the 2016 federal election, Australian female representation in parliament rose slightly from 26% to 28.7%. This is a vast improvement on the absence of women in the parliament in 1977. This is largely due to rises in the number of women in Labor ranks, which has been driven by quotas. </p>
<p>In contrast, the number of Coalition women has steadily fallen since the Howard era. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148982/original/image-20161207-15334-7zztdb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women in federal parliament.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marian Sawer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The representation of women in the lower houses of state parliaments is also not equal. It ranges from 25% (Western Australia) to 44% (Tasmania).</p>
<p>Labor’s numbers of women MPs have <a href="http://theconversation.com/the-case-for-quotas-in-politics-the-absence-of-women-isnt-merit-based-45297">steadily increased</a> with the adoption of quotas in 1994. Since then, the gap has widened between the two major parties in terms of female parliamentary representation.</p>
<p>Put simply, gender quotas work. They exist in more than 100 countries – and, in the past two decades, the proportion of women in parliaments across the globe has almost doubled.</p>
<p>A similar pattern exists in Australia’s corporate sector: women are underrepresented in top-tier roles. The proportion shrinks as women move up the management levels to CEO. Currently, the percentage of women on <a href="https://www.womenonboards.net/Resources/Boardroom-Diversity-Index">ASX 200 boards</a> is 23%, up from just 8.7% in 2010. </p>
<p>In a bid to increase the representation of women on public boards, the Victorian government changed its rules in 2015 to require at least half of all new appointments to courts and paid government board positions be women.</p>
<h2>Alternatives to lift the numbers of women</h2>
<p>Other than quotas, how can the under-representation of women be improved? </p>
<p>One initiative, modelled on the Harvard Kennedy School program <a href="http://wappp.hks.harvard.edu/oval-office-program">Harvard Square to the Oval Office</a>, is Australia’s first <a href="https://government.unimelb.edu.au/study/pathways-to-politics-for-women">Pathways to Politics program for women</a> to support Australian women to elected office.</p>
<p>Launched this year by Australia’s first female governor-general, Quentin Bryce, a select group of 24 University of Melbourne students and alumni completed the 12-week program and have shown early signs of success. Two participants, <a href="http://greens.org.au/vic/susannenewton">Susanne Newton</a> and <a href="http://greens.org.au/vic/stephamir">Stephanie Amir</a>, were elected as Greens councillors to Darebin City Council in last month’s Victorian local government elections. Another two participants became political staffers (one Liberal and one Labor) and two others ran for ALP preselection.</p>
<p>Applications for the June to October 2017 program <a href="https://government.unimelb.edu.au/pathways-to-politics-for-women-application">open soon</a>. Those selected are given the opportunity to learn from members of parliament, campaign strategists, advisers, consultants and elected officials.</p>
<p>So, if there is any lesson to be learned this month from the positive appointment of a female High Court chief justice and the negative story of The Age, it suggests that for women to be truly equitable they need to be not just included where decisions are made, but also made to feel welcome.</p>
<p>The question yet to be answered is: will the Fairfax board appoint a capable journalist who also happens to be a woman?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Carson is the academic coordinator of Pathway's to Politics in the University of Melbourne's School of Government.
She was also a journalist at the Age 1997-2001.
</span></em></p>Women remain systemically underrepresented at the top levels of Australia’s most powerful institutions – including the media, universities, government, judiciary and corporate sector.Andrea Carson, Lecturer, Media and Politics, School of Social and Political Sciences; Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.