“You have to make sure that you’re standing up for other women”

Girlguiding and ODEON brought girls together with a panel of expert voices from across the film industry to discuss barriers facing women in the industry and to share inspiring stories and experiences at an exclusive roundtable event at ODEON Luxe West End.

Led by BAFTA Young Presenter, Precious Assah, the event gave Girlguiding advocates* Millie, 17, and Robin, 19, a seat at the table alongside actor and producer Hester Ruoff (Boiling Point, Gassed Up), ODEON Head of Guest Marketing Charlotte Ullathorne, Sky Director of Original Film, Julia Stuart, and film reporters Shahed Ezaydi from Stylist and Tori Brazier from Metro. They joined together to discuss issues impacting women in the film industry; from experiences of sexism, stereotypes, and the challenge of having your voice heard in a male-dominated space.  

Challenges and overcoming obstacles in the industry

Reflecting on a job she held before working at Sky; Julia shared details of her experience of being the only woman in the team where she found her time taken up by constantly advocating for her colleagues to consider women’s perspectives, rather than having the freedom to focus on creativity.

Julia Stuart from Sky said: “There was a time when I was the only woman in the room quite a lot. There would be a room full of men making decisions on films and they wouldn’t give a second thought to the female characters.”

Charlotte Ullathorne from ODEON spoke about one of the adjustments she made early in her career: “I called myself Charlie and not Charlotte, just really so that I could start to open doors and get listened to. It’s not reflective of today at ODEON but in my early career in leisure there was a tendency for women just to get talked over.”

Hester Ruoff from Ascendant Fox recounted an experience she had when interviewing for an HOD position on a movie: “When I’ve interviewed for heads of department there have been men that have not looked at me once; presuming that the guys in the room must have been the ones that made Boiling Point.”

In spite of some staggering stories of sexism, including Charlotte’s recounting a job early in her career where women quite literally weren’t allowed in the boardroom and thus her interview having to be held in a separate side room, the tone of the industry professionals was optimistic.

Julia said: “I’ve been in a safe environment for quite a long time so I don’t feel this anymore, but I’ve seen men assume that women will soften situations and think that women have soft skills and men have hard skills, but on a personal level I haven’t had to change my behaviour because of it.”

Hester agreed: “The best thing that we [as women] can do ever is be our authentic self and have absolute integrity in everything we do.”

Trends in how women are represented

Looking at the current trends in how women are represented, talk turned to Barbie, which has been a landmark moment in films catering to women, made by women.

Tori Brazier from Metro commented: “I think it’s kind of crazy that it took until last year for the industry as a whole to realise that women go and watch films, and women create films. It was a really nice reminder that they are a powerful audience base.”

Describing how these trends make young women feel, Girlguiding advocate Millie, 17, said: “Going to the cinema with my mum and watching it just felt really hopeful, to see films made by women, about women, for women. It just shows that there is a place for women in the film industry and as someone hoping to go into that industry, it felt inspiring to see.”

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Members of Girlguiding’s advocate panel, Millie and Robin were keen to discuss the experiences of women from less well represented demographics such as minority ethnic backgrounds, neurodivergent women, disabled women, and those from a lower socio-economic background.

Shahed Ezaydi from Stylist said: “I do think representation is getting better, but when it comes to women with marginalised identities like black and brown women and Muslim women, they still get boxed into certain roles. I’m hoping that TV shows like We Are Lady Parts will continue getting made where being Muslim women isn’t the point of the show it’s just about being a punk rock band. I’m hoping we’ll continue to see more diverse women in these spaces.”

Speaking on behalf of ODEON, Charlotte said: “We have a fantastic team and our Managing Director is a woman who is leading the way with change. To encourage more participation we need to be out there making sure that we are engaging with those communities and those individuals to let them know what’s available.”

Hester spoke about the responsibility of film companies: “We all need to create an environment where everybody, no matter who you are, what you look like, or anything else, can thrive. A place where you feel ‘I am an equal to anyone else here’.”

Speaking about ways to support women of colour, who despite increasing representation on film, have been increasingly reporting mistreatment, Julia said: “We work really hard to make sure our call sheets have got details of people you can call […] but more than that it’s making sure that people know that they’re in a safe space to speak and that it will be addressed without jeopardising their jobs.”

Practical advice and the future of the industry

The film industry experts encouraged the young women in the room to reach out to those already in the industry for support and guidance.

Charlotte advised: ”Reach out! We have channels liked LinkedIn where we are accessible. Mentoring and giving advice is a big part of being a leader and giving back.”

Julia added: “One real positive is that women have gotten good at advocating for women. You have to make sure that you’re standing up for other women.”

Hester encouraged starting small, saying: “Be practical. Start with a short film that you can do on your mobile. Ask people, talk to people, and do it together. You will make magic because you’re all leaning in and making something beautiful together.”

Moderator Precious spoke about her own decision to jump in and start making her own documentary. She said: “I’m currently working on a documentary and at first I was thinking ‘where are the funds’ and everything, but if I just do it then it’s fine, and it’s a foot in the door.”

Ending the discussion with a look to the future, the panel talked through changes they hoped to see.

Shahed said “I want for it to be just really normal, for a film to have a diverse cast on screen, for it to have diverse directors, for it not to be this gold star like it is at the moment because diversity is currently so lacking.”

Tori agreed, saying: “Exactly, diverse films where diversity isn’t the headline.”

Advocate Millie followed on by saying: “From a young person’s perspective, what we need is more conversations like these that leave me feeling so inspired. For young girls to see that there are these opportunities for them is really important.”

Girlguiding and ODEON have been working together for the past seven years, providing affordable cinema experiences for girls beyond their unit meetings, and opportunities for volunteers to connect with their guiding community. The partnership includes special screenings of the latest family-friendly films exclusively for Girlguiding members.