Leaders in UK screen call for a renewed focus on women's equity in the film and TV industries
Published: 17 June 2025
The calls comes as a new evidence-based guide for effective policy design is published.
Leaders in UK screen call for a renewed focus on women's equity in the film and TV industries and publish evidence-based guide for effective policy design, at Glasgow event.
An evidence-based guide that will support women in film and television was launched at an event at the University of Glasgow.
The Deeds Not Words Policy Design Guide provides advice on designing and reviewing policies, interventions and action plans.
Sara Putt, Talent Agent and BAFTA Chair, is one of ten screen industry leaders who drafted and tested the Deeds Not Words Guide.
She said: “With others I am calling for a renewed focus on women's equality in the film and TV industries. Even with some significant gains and enormous effort, overall progress is slow. Now, the global economic and political environment is putting fragile progress in jeopardy. Concerted action on women's equity is needed now as much as it ever was.”
The Deeds Not Words Guide is based on three years of international research co-led by Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof of the University of Glasgow, and CEO/Creative Director of the not-for-profit company Design Otherwise.
Doris Ruth Eikhof, Professor of Cultural Economy & Policy and CEO/Creative Director of Design Otherwise, who co-led the research and convened the screen industry expert group that drafted and tested the Guide, said at the event:
“Although there has been a surge of gender equity policies in the countries analysed (UK, Germany and Canada) and some good advances made, progress is patchy and slow. For example, the overall research found that if the rate of change in the UK remains the same, women won’t hold 50% of the key creative jobs in film until 2085. That was why a key recommendation of our research report was for more co-ordination and greater emphasis on scale change at scale. I brought the industry expert team together so they could make use of our policy analysis to achieve that, and I am delighted with the results. The Guide is designed to help turn words on the page into effective action for change to support women.”
Professor Eikhof added: “Not everyone in film and TV agrees on how we should talk about gender equity or women’s equality, and the Deeds Not Words initiative was in part born out of my frustration at how often conversations about improving equity for women have, in recent years, stalled at the very first, definitional hurdle. There is enough - in fact, plenty - common ground for us to work together, to improve women’s equity with strategic, collective action, and that within that action, there can be room for individuals and organisations to tailor their approaches.”
The Deeds Not Words Guide contains six questions the expert group recommends using when designing policies, interventions and action plans to support women’s equity in film and TV.
Philippa Childs Head of Bectu, and part of the expert group said: “Bectu’s own research consistently shows that women consider leaving the film and TV industry at a higher rate than men, often driven out by inadequate support and an unwillingness from many parts of the industry to embrace things like flexible working and job sharing.
“But the Deeds not Words Policy Design Guide shows that another way is possible, offering practical tips and tools to better plan policies that support gender equity. And Bectu’s own Scotland-based training provider, Bectu Vision, have demonstrated through a number of practical examples that we can make film and TV workplaces safer and fairer for everyone.
“I’m really pleased to have been part of the expert group behind the Guide and to add Bectu’s voice to the call for renewed progress on women’s equality in film and TV. The current model is simply not sustainable and if the industry wants to retain its talent, it must do better by the women who are critical to its success.”
Jane Muirhead, MD Raise the Roof Productions, Chair of Pact Council, and a speaker at the event, said: "There are so many pressures facing the industry just now that sometimes it can be hard to keep the focus on creating a fairer, better, working environment. This event (Deeds not Words 2025) is a welcome opportunity for us to come together and say we're more than 50% of the population. Let's talk about what we need, and what our companies need to foster creativity."
The Deeds Not Words Guide launched on 17 June 2025 at the University of Glasgow with keynotes from talent agent and BAFTA Chair, Sara Putt and Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof.
The event was chaired by TV broadcaster Laura Maciver (in a personal capacity), with a welcome from Professor Chris Pearce, Vice-Principal Research & Knowledge Exchange, University of Glasgow. A panel discussion including Sara Putt, Miranda Wayland (CEO Creative Diversity Network), Glasgow based Amy Shaw (Bectu Vision) and Jane Muirhead, MD Raise the Roof Productions and Chair of Pact.
The Deeds Not Words Policy Design Guide
A team of 10 screen industry experts from cross sector organisations in film and TV worked together to draft and test the Guide.
They all say: “We are committed to using the Deeds Not Words Guide. We urge others to use it too, and to join us in a renewed focus on women’s equity in film & TV”
Signatories: Katie Bailiff (CEO, Women in Film & Television), Philippa Childs (Head of Bectu), Pete Johnson (CEO, British Screen Forum), Laura Mansfield (CEO, ScreenSkills), Anjani Patel (Head of Inclusion & Diversity, Pact), Sara Putt (Talent Agent and BAFTA Chair), Jen Smith (CEO, CIISA), Su-Mei Thompson (CEO, Media Trust), Miranda Wayland (CEO, CDN), Sara Whybrew (Director of Skills & Workforce Development, BFI).
Supported by: Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof, Helen Shreeve & George Hewson for Design Otherwise and the University of Glasgow.
The Deeds Not Words Guide is based on policy analysis led by Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof, Dr Kevin Guyan and Dr Amanda Coles and undertaken for the GEP Analysis Project.
Find out more about Deeds Not Words, and the underpinning research, and read the full Guide.
More on the underlying research
Research co-led by Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof of the University of Glasgow analysed 90 gender equity policies published 2003-2021 for film and TV in the UK, Canada and Germany. To contextualise findings, the team interviewed 34 film and TV industry experts who create and/or implement policies. A policy in this context is a formal, written statement or instruction intended to shape industry practice related to gender equity. In the UK, 52 such policies were published by 32 organisations: governments and governmental agencies, advocacy groups, film funders, professional associations, non-profit organisations, unions, broadcasters and production companies.
This research was part of a broader international report published in 2024, Re-Framing the Picture, which investigated progress towards gender equity in three countries. That report showed that if the current rate of progress persists women would not hold 50% of the key creative roles in UK film until 2085 (60 years).
This report was discussed at the Deeds Not Words Summit in 2024. Professor Doris Ruth Eikhof led the in-depth policy analysis and was the UK lead for the whole Report.
First published: 17 June 2025