Women in Animation has launched a new initiative to tackle the gender disparity in the animation workforce head-on, setting a goal of “50-50 by 2025.” Despite making up the majority of students in animation programs, women only hold about 20% of creative jobs in the industry. A panel at this week’s VIEW Conference in Turin, moderated by WIA chair Jinko Gotoh, addressed the topic.
A full day devoted to the issue is planned for the Spark Animation Conference in Vancouver, BC Oct. 23 with the “Women and the Business of Animation” symposium. This program will open with a panel on the 50-50 initiative moderated by producer Rose-Ann Tisserand and featuring Marge Dean (WIA co-president), Alex Raffe, Brenda Gilbert, Delna Bhesania, J.J. Johnson and Kristen Newlands. Further panels include “Monetizing Shorts,” “Pitch It Forward” and “Financing Features.”
WIA will host another panel on the disparity between the numbers of female animation students and women in the animated work world at the World Animation Celebration in L.A. on Sunday, October 25. (www.animationmagazine.net/wac)
This international outreach will be complemented by a program supporting short films by women animators, which will be detailed during the World Animation Celebration panel. According to Marge Dean, the program will give female creators a chance to get their work seen and to monetize it.
