Originallý published here.

Women still stand far less chance than men of becoming the screenwriter of a British film. The percentage of women’s involvement in film work across the globe hasn’t changed in decades. This chapter describes the problem that the rest of the book investigates. It presents quantitative data that has revealed the continued gender inequality in screenwriting both in the UK and internationally, then explores what is known about who writes British films and outlines where screenwriting work fits into the larger filmmaking process. Introducing new empirical data from interviews with British screenwriters and their employers, this book casts a spotlight on the missing women and reveals that investigating the reasons for their absence can tell us much about the complex interlinking of gender and creative work.

The final chapter draws together the arguments of the book, summarizing and reiterating the key findings into conclusions about why gender inequality is so unshakably ingrained in screenwriting work in the UK. It makes arguments for how to make real change a possibility. It moves the conversation forward, from ‘where are all the women?’ to how can women have the value of their stories recognised? From what women must do, to how can film work be more womenfriendly? It proposes that we need not just more women, but a diverse range of women, as both screenwriters and employers and in all key roles. In this way we can start to trouble the binary gendered assumptions that inform our films, our culture and our lives.

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