Patterns of Discrimination against Women in the Film and Television Industries, a report issued in 1975 by the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT), was a seminal document on gender discrimination in the workplace. Upon its publication, it was heralded as “by far the most comprehensive and informed to have been produced within the trade union movement so far” by feminist film scholar and activist Claire Johnston. However, by the time of the ACTT's first Women's Conference six years later, in 1981, Gillian Skirrow described the report as “regrettably up-to-date,” indicating that little had changed. This article examines the relationship between women and the ACTT between 1968 and 1981 to situate the report in historical context.
“Regrettably up-to-date”: The Patterns of Discrimination against Women in the Film and Television Industries Report (1975) in Historical Context
Frances C. Galt completed her Arts and Humanities Research Council–funded PhD at De Montfort University in 2018. Her thesis examines the relationship between women workers and the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) between 1960 and 1989. This research was attached to the AHRC-funded project “A History of Women in the British Film and Television Industries, 1933–1989,” led by Melanie Bell and Vicky Ball. Galt's research interests lie in women's labor history, particularly women's participation in the British labor movement and women's experiences of work.
Frances C. Galt; “Regrettably up-to-date”: The Patterns of Discrimination against Women in the Film and Television Industries Report (1975) in Historical Context. Feminist Media Histories 1 October 2018; 4 (4): 130–159. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/fmh.2018.4.4.130
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