OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The CRTC is joining forces with Canada's big public and private-sector broadcasters in an effort to help more women to play leading roles in the Canadian film and television production industry.
On Friday, also International Women’s Day, the Commission shared some details from its recent Women in Production Summit held last December. In addition to CRTC chair Ian Scott and broadcasting vice-chair Dr. Caroline Simard, attendees included Rick Brace, president, Rogers Media; France Lauzière, president and CEO of TVA Group Inc.; Randy Lennox, president, Bell Media; Doug Murphy, president and CEO, Corus Entertainment; Josh Scherba, president, DHX Media; Jamie Schouela, president of Canadian media, Blue Ant Media; and Catherine Tait, president and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada.
While acknowledging that there has been some progress in recent years, all participants agreed that current data shows that women continue to face barriers to career advancement in this field, and pledged to address the lack of gender parity in key creative positions suchh as producer, director, writer, cinematographer and showrunner.
The participating broadcasters agreed to each work on voluntary action plans tailored to their businesses and markets and share their plans publicly in the coming months.
