For years, the TV industry has been home to networking lunches and diversity schemes - well-intentioned measures, sure, but which don't actually seem to translate into on-screen representation.
During research conducted by Equity and published in early 2021, the union found that 72% of female performers felt pressured to "look a certain way", compared with 28% of male counterparts. Research also found disparities between male and female salaries for the same work being completed, as well as inadequate measures being taken to protect female talent from male predators in the industry.
We Are Doc Women are an organisation which represents the interests of female directors, particularly those working in factual television in the UK.
In research conducted in 2021, the organisation surveyed the experiences of 700 industry professionals and highlighted the difficulties women in factual television face in career progression. Once more, the gender pay gap was highlighted despite increased numbers of females in these roles.
Women in factual television appeared to remain lower-paid roles for longer than men, as well as being less likely to be offered directing roles following a stint behind the camera.
UK broadcaster, Channel 4, reported an astonighingly high average gender pay gap of 28.6%.
Whether actor or behind the scenes expert, it's clear that this normalised culture of gender inequality is not only making the TV industry an unpleasant one for female talent - but perhaps even one which devalues the true worth of women working in British TV.
2018 marked the first year where companies with more than 250 employees were legally required to report their gender pay gaps, and the figures were stark.
Of the UK broadcasters, Channel 4 reported the highest average gender pay gap of 28.6%. This was closely followed by UKTV (17.9%), ITV (16.4%), BBC (10.7%) and Sky (5.2%). Columbia Pictures - operator of Sony's UK productions and services - disclosed a pay gap of 25.6% in favour of men, and for a large number of companies, both mean hourly pay and mean bonus pay were lower for men than in women.
Is the United States really much better?
Hollywood is renowned for its lack of representation and the gender pay gap is long-documented. It's a tough world for women and the standards are somehow even higher for our friends in America.
But as Gina Yashere said of the industry in the U.S.A "that glass ceiling is a lot higher than in England. So you’re still a multi-millionaire when you hit it!"
This is no new phenomenon.
It's the land of opportunity (supposedly) and the birthplace of meritocracy (unfortunately), so those in entertainment have been making the move across the Atlantic for as long as the industry has been profitable.
And while that may be true, the issues of gender inequality remain a concern in the TV industry - both in Britain and abroad. The answer to the issues women face isn't to let great talent leave the industry (or the country), it's to make meaningful change to allow women to tell the stories they want to tell and to get paid as much as their male counterparts for doing it.