Women in Culture and Media

The study “Women in Culture and Media,” published by the German Cultural Council, covers a 20-year period (1994–2014) during which the representation of women in culture and media was tracked and specific trends regarding that representation were identified. The study considers only two genders but provides data for the entire country and for various sectors.

 

Some findings from the study:

Employment and the representation of women in leadership positions

• Gender pay gap: Women still earn less than men
• Work-life balance: Female college graduates in leadership positions usually do not have children
• Women are underrepresented in leadership positions

 

Field of Education

• Breakdown by course of study: Women are particularly well-represented in language and cultural studies as well as in art history
• The leadership of music and art colleges is almost entirely male, while the proportion of women in press and public relations consistently exceeds 60 percent

 

Situation in Individual Sectors and Cultural Institutions

Performing Arts

• In the artistic field of theater, the proportion of women is particularly high among stage managers (80 percent in 2014) and particularly low among theater directors (22 percent in 2014)
• Opera has a strong male-dominated canon; works by female composers account for less than 10 percent of the works performed
• The majority of leaders of radio and symphony orchestras are men

 

Visual Arts

• Art museums are predominantly led by men, although the proportion of female directors has risen from 21 percent (1994) to 34 percent (2014)
• Works by female artists are exhibited less frequently than those by male artists (for example, at Art Cologne: 30 percent of works were by female artists in 2014)

 

Literature

• Over 80 percent of apprentices in the book trade are women

 

Freelance Work

In 2015, individuals covered by the Artists’ Social Security Fund earned an annual average of 15,425 euros, with men earning 24 percent (4,235 euros) more than women

 

Individual Support Programs and Awards

Music

• On average, an equal number of girls and boys win the “Jugend Musiziert” competition
• More men than women win the German Music Competition
• In the composition category of the German Music Competition, ten men and one woman received awards between 2009 and 2013
   

Literature

• 60 percent of the translation grants awarded by the German Translation Fund went to women
• German Book Prize: Women accounted for 32 percent of the shortlist; however, more women than men were awarded the prize

 

Theater and Film

• 12 percent of the directors invited to the Berlin Theater Festival were women
• Four women were awarded the Mülheim Drama Prize, representing 24 percent
• 19 percent of the recipients of the German Screenplay Award were women

 

Residencies/Grants

• In all disciplines except architecture, more men than women received a grant from Villa Massimo
• At Villa Aurora, however, women were slightly in the majority overall (64 percent)