Be a Director from Day One

“The launch of recent diversity initiatives within the advertising industry has been a breath of fresh air. The Free the Bid initiative and AICP’s Commercial Directors Diversity Program are making major strides in increasing the inclusion of female directors in the overall production process, sparking more conversation than ever about the lack of diversity in directors and in the advertising industry as a whole.

But how can we expect there to be more diversity in commercial directors if there isn’t any detectable diversity on set? How can we foster young female talent if they have no role models within the crews they work with?

In our efforts to try to support and sign women directors, I’ve found that comparatively, there are just so few of them. These new initiatives are wonderful platforms for both established and up-and-coming female directors to get exposure and encouragement, but we as production companies need to do more to encourage women and minorities to become directors. Agencies and clients are stepping up to create initiatives that promote diversity, but what are we doing as production companies?

Being a woman who came up through production, I’ve always been aware that there is a lot of occupational segregation. Women on set are most often in production, vanities and script—very rarely in the camera department or on grip or electric.

For younger women who aspire to become a director that come to set and see only men near the camera, it can be intimidating and demoralizing. They have to work that much harder to get access to the tools that will empower them to become a director. I think that because of this occupational segregation, there can be an inherent assumption on set that women want to be in production or vanities and therefore often other departments don’t necessarily think to ask female PA’s who they are and what they want to do. They just get shifted into their presumed roles and are never encouraged to explore alternatives that may push them to “get their hands dirty.”

Women who are siloed into the wardrobe room or in production aren’t on set, on trucks or loading equipment are limited from establishing relationships with the crew and having conversations about directing or how to move their career forward. Without the access to truly connect with other types of crew, they are shut out of opportunities where they might find a mentor or champion.

It’s up to the production community as a whole to start thinking bigger picture and to incite discussion about hiring more women and minorities on set and in less “traditional” roles. Ask your keys to consider this for their hires and to encourage women who are further in their careers to advance and to be role models for younger women. Ask the crew and directors to take a step back and be aware of the women on set and think of them as potential new directors. Have them think back to their early mentoring experiences and put themselves in these women’s shoes and work to champion and guide them to become directors. Ask to see their work. Invite them to watch you work and make an effort to explain what you do and how you do it. Discuss the steps you took to move forward your career.

Now is the time to make the strategic shift to actively encourage, champion, teach and provide opportunity to women on the production side of the business to grow. Inspire the women who already have directorial aspirations and spark a fire in the women who maybe haven’t considered it yet.“