Abstract
This chapter provides a unique inside view of the informal and socialized recruitment processes of the UK film labour market and demonstrates the precise mechanisms that lead to gender inequality. The need to be constantly ‘networking’ is an accepted part of film work, but how exactly does it disadvantage women? This chapter also examines the way employers justify their subjective decisions about hiring certain personnel as risk reduction strategies, thereby excusing any need to address inequality of access to screenwriting work. In analysing the importance of the idea of ‘trust’ to employers of screenwriters, it also demonstrates how their talk suggests they are actually more likely to rely on homophily to feel secure about their choices and how this has a significant impact on women.
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Notes
- 1.
Less than 10 per cent of all jobs advertised with flexible working conditions pay over £20,000 full-time equivalent. The best paid part-time jobs are negotiated by individuals in full-time positions (Timewise 2017: Key conclusions).
- 2.
Working Title is the company behind such successful films as ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Notting Hill’, ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’, and ‘Frost v Nixon’. See http://www.imdb.com/company/co0057311/ for a full list of their credits.
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Wreyford, N. (2018). The Gendered Dynamics of the Recruitment of Screenwriters. In: Gender Inequality in Screenwriting Work. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95732-6_4
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