REEL SUCCESS STORIES: Calling a wrap on the gender gap: Mentoring makes movie magic for women in TV

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> Hands-on internships prove mentorship works: women now hold major Netflix and Showmax credits, yet South Africa still records only 11% female directors.

Although the lack of gender parity in the film and television industry is a global trend, the underrepresentation of women in behind-the-scenes roles in South Africa is alarmingly high.

Reports like Gender Matters in the SA Film Industry, based on a study by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), highlight the continuing challenges in bridging the gender gap. As for ownership of and leadership in production houses, women are in a minuscule minority.

Enter one of the few South African women owners, the award-winning Harriet Gavshon, who, in 1993, co-founded Weekly Mail Television, which morphed into Curious Pictures before becoming South Africa’s leading film and television production company, Quizzical Pictures. After 28 years of leadership, her role has now shifted from founder-owner to creative director.

Gavshon believes that women have been locked out of the director’s chair, citing data tracking South African feature films released nationally as showing only 11% of films had female directors, and only 16% were written by women.

“While initiatives like the NFVF Female Filmmaker Slate have boosted indie and short film numbers, women remain vastly underrepresented in high-budget commercial cinema and prime-time telenovela directing,” she said.

The business side of South African media remains highly unequal in every area:

Women trail behind men in economic decision-making, specifically financial management and executive producing;

The division of labour on sets remains highly gendered and few women hold technical crew positions; and

Sound engineering, lighting and camera departments remain overwhelmingly male, with women typically working in wardrobe and make-up.

Editing, Gavshon said, is one of the few technical spaces women occupy, but men still dominate the post-production sector.

Her solution, implemented over the past three decades, is an active programme of mentorship and internship. She speaks enthusiastically of the 100 people who have had their start in the industry by interning at Quizzical Pictures and gone on to become experts in their fields.

“Mentorship and the ability to learn on the job through internship is crucial. It gives young people the chance to get on their feet in a safe and nurturing environment. When I finished university, I lay on my bed for six months until someone got me up and offered me a job. Everyone needs that first push to get them going,” Gavshon said.

Here are four women who are at the top of their game in male-dominated areas of the industry, who credit internship and mentorship for their success.