EDI film policies and their discontents

Cobb, Shelley; Newsinger, Jack

Abstract

Using policy to increase equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the film workforce is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the UK, it was not until 2000 that increasing workforce diversity was explicitly codified as a film policy aim. Since then, EDI film policy has evolved through a massive expansion of data collection on the demographic characteristics of the film workforce, through different kinds of policy interventions, and the expansion of the different agencies involved. Since 2000, the prominence of the issue of inequality has also grown, both within the industry itself and as a subject of public debate and controversy. However, despite this, the film industry remains nearly as segregated, closed and sexist as it was to start with. This chapter explores this problem first by outlining the major components of UK diversity film policy and some of the main debates and critical paradigms. The second part of the chapter explores the issues in more detail through case studies taken from the research project Calling the Shots: Women and Contemporary Film Culture in the UK , in which we consider the representation and experiences of Black women and other women of colour in the UK film and television industries.

Citation

Cobb, S., & Newsinger, J. (2025). EDI film policies and their discontents. In R. Cheung, J. Hill, N. Kawashima, & P. McDonald (Eds.), Global Film Policies: New Perspectives. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003171287-8

• Online Publication Date: Jul 29, 2025
• Publication Date: Jun 20, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 24, 2025
• Publisher: Routledge
• Series Title: Routledge studies in media and cultural industries
• Book Title: Global Film Policies: New Perspectives
• Chapter Number: 7
• ISBN: 9780367774158
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003171287-8
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/50704718
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003171287-8/edi-film-policies-discontents-shelley-cobb-jack-newsinger