1. Introduction: The Extent of Gender Inequality in Film Screenwriting Work

Women still stand a far less chance than men of becoming the screenwriter of a British film. The percentage of women’s involvement in film work across the globe hasn’t changed in decades. This chapter describes the problem that the rest of the book investigates. It presents quantitative data that has revealed the continued gender inequality in screenwriting, both in the UK and internationally, then explores what is known about who writes British films and outlines where screenwriting work fits into the larger filmmaking process. Introducing new empirical data from interviews with British screenwriters and their employers, this book casts a spotlight on the missing women and reveals that investigating the reasons for their absence can tell us much about the complex interlinking of gender and creative work.