Over the last few years, the animation industry has taken rapid strides but like most other domains across industry, women’s representation in the workforce remains a woefully skewed with the majority of the industry being made up of men. In fact, this disproportionate representation starts from the university level itself where one can see the ratio of incoming students being already tilted towards male students. However, the good news is that this gap is reducing, albeit slowly. Yet the situation merits a thorough analysis of the factors that are causing this gender gap. One of the biggest concerns is the absence of women in leadership positions that translates into absence of mentors for young women entrants in the industry. Additionally, opportunities for trainings and skill development are limited for women fueled by the lack of access to needed high-end hardware and software as well as other infrastructure.
There is enough evidence that in a patriarchal society, hiring managers are often plagued by deep, unconscious biases because of which, women have to put in disproportionally more effort and time to reach the same career milestones as the men in their peer group. Almost all industries have unsaid demarcations of what are hard and soft tasks and often women are hired for the supposedly easier or softer roles that require management abilities. Every industry tends to identify certain roles that are considered easy or not worthy of the right compensation and those are organizationally earmarked for women. It is assumed that other gender-based social responsibilities will hinder women from fulfilling their professional requirements. Stereotypes about women being the proverbial weaker sex who are guided by their emotions are deployed to restrict women to non-leadership or relatively unimportant roles. This is not to say that hiring managers are always actively peddling such notions but there is enough evidence to suggest that one does get unconsciously influenced by the dominant norms of a society and HR managers are no exception. This also translates to lower remuneration and less financial freedom.
From an organisational behaviour perspective, linking abilities, skills and talent to an individual’s gender leads to a continued perpetuation of stereotypes thereby leading to a vicious cycle that is difficult to break. Given that in many ways, men have a solid first-mover advantage; women have to play significant catch-up where they are required to break a generational cycle of inequality and a significant lack of opportunities. In fact, even if women are present in a workplace, they find themselves subject to ridicule, sexist comments, and overall misogyny, which can lead to workplace sexual harassment. Thus, safety and respect are the two most significant components that must be ensured to facilitate an increase in the number of women in the animation industry.
However, this is not to suggest that all is lost or that things cannot improve. Over the years, more and more women are displaying keen interest and enthusiasm in joining this industry and keeping up with the demands of the profession. Several factors have contributed to this change. First, society in general and families in particular have become more accepting of women joining different fields, including the ones that may have traditionally not been associated with women. Secondly, there are more facilities available that allow women to share some of their caregiving or household responsibilities and invest the time in their careers. Additionally, more and more women now have greater awareness of career opportunities and upskilling initiatives. They are themselves keen on building their portfolios and breaking the proverbial glass ceiling. Further, while the previous generation of women struggled with the absence of role models, the new generation of women has greater access to the internet and global trends which has given them examples of whose footsteps they can follow.
From an industry perspective, compared to several other domains, the animation industry offers better returns in the form of high remuneration as well as a high degree of flexibility in working arrangements. Professionals work independently and set their own schedules, which allows them to keep abreast with the developments in the industry while managing other commitments such as child-rearing or caregiving, as may be the case. The industry is also working towards discarding any stereotypes and recognising the significant role women play in the workforce. There is a consensus among employers that all that can be dome must be done to ensure that women feel welcomed and safe at the workplace. These include better infrastructure such as washrooms and day care to allow women to participate in their day jobs without being stressed about basic amenities. Given the increase in awareness, companies and employers are cognisant of the strengths that women employees bring to the table and therefore they are going all out to ensure that their participation is not compromised or affected by any obstacle.
(The author is Charuvi Agrawal, Founder, Charuvi Design Labs (CDL), and the views expressed in this article are her own)
