Women and TV – Is it a Young Girl’s Game?.

Ask young women today what they want, and one thing becomes clear. They are not short on aspiration.

Join our panel as we survey the evidence: in a 2004 Equal Opportunities Commission survey of year 10 pupils, 88 per cent of girls said that choosing a career with long term prospects was very important to them. A 2006 survey found that over 90 per cent of young people surveyed wanted to balance career and family life in the future. Can a career in Television provide that for women?

Skillset’s 2009 Employment Census Report and 2008 Creative Media Workforce Survey are due to reveal the real differences between men and women in the TV workforce. Why is there such a gap in representation of women aged over 35, are women leaving, and why? What barriers are being faced, is the industry institutionally ageist and sexist? Is wisdom and experience not respected?

How do you balance having children? Or should we just admit TV is a young girl’s game; a fast-moving youth driven industry fuelled by new ideas and what we are seeing is actually the reality of a creative industry? Also, given there are many women in senior roles in TV; is there anything to complain about at all?

Join contributors from the industry including Lorraine Heggessey Chief Executive talkbackTHAMES and first female BBC One Controller,

Eileen Gallagher Chief Executive Shed Productions, Anne Morrison Director BBC Academy, as well as representatives from Skillset and Women in Film and Television to discuss and debate the squandering of female talent in our industry, and most importantly, what we need to do about it.

Date: Wednesday 17th March , 18:30. Venue: BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, W1J 9LN

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