ERA5050
Campaigning for equality on British stage and screen, 2015+
ERA5050 is a high-profile campaign founded in 2015 to campaign for 50:50 gender balance on British stage and screen.
Strategic Partners:
Equity, Spotlight, TimesUp UK, BFI, PIPA, MonoBox, Directors UK, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, Geena Davis Institute, Act for Change
Supporters:
Emma Thompson, Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies
ERA5050 is a high-profile campaign founded in 2015 to campaign for 50:50 gender balance on British stage and screen. ERA5050 has grown rapidly in influence and represents over 7000 members across the UK and internationally.
After experiencing a particularly awful incidence of workplace harrassment and contructive dismissal that affected three colleagues in 2011 and resulting in all three of us having to leave the toxic environment, I realised there were few female role models or clear avenues for help. At the same time, the Geena Davis Institute had published their report ‘Gender Bias Without Borders’ on inequality in the media, revealing the staggering ratio of 2:1 actors to every actress and an average of 17% female representation in crowd scenes in films. When I was invited to help bring a movement to life by co-founders Polly Kemp and Elizabeth Berrington, I jumped at the opportunity and possibility of changing perceptions of women on our screen and how improved representation might positively affect our children.
The campaign has built a wealth of supporters that include Olivia Colman, Emma Thompson and Emma Watson. Industry partners include Spotlight, Equity, TIMESUP UK, Directors’ UK, Primetime, Act for Change and the Geena Davis Institute.
Interview with Spotlight at BAFTA: link
“In 2018, a century since the first women got the vote – it is simply unacceptable that your gender can still determine your opportunities in life, how much you get paid and your career prospects. There are still too few women in public life, in boardrooms and on our screens. It’s so important for young women pursuing their career to have positive role models to aspire to. That’s why I’m proud to support the ERA 50:50 campaign, telling the world that Behind Every Great City is equality, opportunity and progress regardless of your gender. Throughout this year and beyond, I will be working with every sector to redouble our efforts in the fight for gender equality, and doing all we can to remove any barriers to women’s success so that everybody can unlock their full potential.”
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON 2018
“This award recognises individuals or organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the UK theatre industry and those of us who work in it.
At this moment in time the workers in our industry – and we are all of us workers in our industry – face enormous challenges, challenges unlike any I have seen before in my lifetime. If you care about the future of theatre, of film, of radio, of television and in particular the BBC, please join Equity if you are not already a member, and add your name and voice to the 48,000 members of our union fighting for the rights of every individual working in our industry to live a fully realised life while pursuing the career of their dreams.
Nominations for the Equity Award for Services to Theatre are made exclusively by our members, and it is my privilege to present this award to an organisation that, while only founded in 2015, is now a loud and powerful voice in our business. Their iconic badges are commonly spotted on red carpets from Los Angeles to London, and they have been working tirelessly away from the spotlight to ensure that gender equality is truly realised across our profession. And with Arts Council England’s latest decade long strategy, Let’s Create, inexplicably, making barely any mention of the underrepresentation of female-identifying performers there’s a lot more to do. This is a fight that will be won with the leadership and resolve of tonight’s recipient.”