ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 summarizes the gendered challenges that women in media work face and asks what needs to be achieved to bring greater gender equality to film and television production. It begins by examining activism for media equality in Ireland since the 1970s and maps the predominant paradigm that shaped thinking on women’s participation in film and television production until 2015. The seminal event of Waking the Feminists is explored and how it connects to the film and broadcast industries is outlined. Subsequent rapid and significant changes in policy goals from within the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are presented. The analysis outlines how these changes were achieved by a number of key individuals, state agencies and industry organizations that campaigned to have more gender diverse media content, greater participation of women in media industries and a more gender equal screen production sector in Ireland. The chapter concludes with an examination of how this activism can be framed in terms of contemporary analyses of feminism and by looking to the possibility of a more feminist future for Irish film and television workers.
