A new survey from Women in AV sheds light on industry demographics and suggests that women in the professional audiovisual industry want more opportunities to advance their careers.
The study, conducted by Women in AV and technician Kari Martinez, is called the first data gathering research that creates a baseline of women in the industry. A total of 506 women worldwide were polled on demographics, industry statistics, passions and preferences and career aspirations.
“This is a thrilling, game-changing moment for all women working in the AV industry and another huge win for advancing gender equality in technology industries” Jennifer Willard, founder of Women in AV,
said in a statement. “For the first time, we truly have meaningful data about who our female colleagues are around the world, what we do, and where to develop effective career training initiatives to improve our professional skills and inspire more women and young girls to be excited about joining us as Women in AV.”
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The data confirmed presumptions about women in other STEM fields: they aren’t given as many opportunities to advance their careers as their male counterparts:
- According to the study, almost half of women in the industry said they have no mentor, while 28% say men are their career advisors.
- A majority, 67%, of women say they fell into the industry.
- Leadership, career advancement and technical training are the top three areas females want more future growth opportunities
The study also shed light on ethnic diversity – or a lack thereof – of women in the industry as 80% of women polled identified as white or Caucasian. The next highest minority population of women in the industry were Hispanics (6%), the study found.
Meanwhile, Asian women made up 4%, African American women made up 2%, Middle Eastern women made up 1% while 3% identified as mixed race and 4% did not disclose their ethnicity.
The survey also detailed the industry’s struggles to attract young talent, as just 11% of women polled were between the ages of 18 and 25. Meanwhile, 31% were over 46, 29% were between 26 and 35, and 29% were between 35 and 46.
