WIFT-T is pleased to present Frame Work II: Canada’s Screen-Based Workforce, a study of the employment of equity groups across screen-based industries in Canada. Download a PDF of the full report and/or executive summary via the links below.

Frame Work II examines the participation of women, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities across the film and television production, film and television distribution, broadcasting, and interactive digital media industries in Canada.

Prepared by Nordicity Group with data collection undertaken by Environics Research, the study provides a snapshot of the current employment of equity groups in the context of today’s business and technological developments.

Executive Summary

• Frame Work II: Executive Summary
• Frame Work II : Sommaire

Full Report

• Frame Work II: Canada’s Screen-Based Workforce
• Frame Work II : la main-d’oeuvre dans les industries televisuelles au Canada

Release Event

On January 27, 2012, WIFT-T released the findings of Frame Work II to a group of industry professionals, business leaders and initiative partners at St. Andrew’s Club in Toronto. The event featured a presentation of key findings, followed by three lightning talks with guest experts discussing key areas and strategies for tangible change.

Summary of Key Findings

• The “old boys’ club” still commands authority, particularly in the film and TV production, film and TV distribution, and broadcasting industries. The “glass ceiling” for women continues to exist, but it has moved up a level of seniority.
•  Women have made some progress in the decision-making and creative positions in film and television production and broadcasting, but remain underrepresented in the technical roles across the screen-based industries.
• Gender-based disparities in average earnings persist across the screen-based industries, which may be the result of a greater proportion of women in lower paid positions.
• Training is not a panacea for hiring or for progressing further in one’s career in the relationship and project experience-driven screen-based industries. Designated groups must work proactively to improve their career management skills.
• The market is an effective driver of change when a compelling business case can be made about the connection between a more diverse workforce/more diverse content and an increase in sales and enhanced competitiveness.
• “Work-life balance” is the workplace issue identified as the most significant in terms of its impact on recruitment and career progression across the screen-based industries.
• Members of designated groups still face great challenges in overcoming negative perceptions about their abilities in the workplace.

Pressure Points for Change

Demonstrating the market’s buying power to influence change
Many companies are beginning to recognize the tangible business rewards of encouraging a more diverse culture. Demonstrating how women and other designated groups are vital team members in the production and distribution of content, as well as important buyers and consumers, is a compelling business case for decision-makers, business owners and industry leaders.

Public momentum may influence change
One interviewee described the struggles of “outsider groups” today as very similar to what she experienced as a woman in the industry years ago. To her, the vital difference was that her struggle occurred in the midst of the women’s liberation movement—among myriad regulations, laws, growing public support and political pressure to help women cut a path into the workplace

Change requires leadership, not just more training
One road to measurable change requires industry and business leaders to shift from simply being “open” to a more diverse workforce, to demonstrating an active determination to change the status quo. Evidence of this shift could come in the form of hiring, nurturing and promoting strong candidates from designated groups and a commitment to increasing on-screen diversity.

For more information, contact Heather Webb at 416.322.3430 ext. 223 or hwebb@wift.com.

Presenting Partners

Supporting Partners

Background | Frame Work 2004

In 2004, WIFT-T’s groundbreaking study on employment trends in Canadian screen-based media fueled industry-wide dialogue and contributed to policy and programming developments in the screen-based sector. Read more.