International Women’s Day 2026 – #GiveToGain

At Southpoint Films, we believe in running a business that leaves the world better than we found it. A significant part of that mission involves advocating for gender equality within the video production and broadcast industry.

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, yet many of the issues impacting women’s advancement remain stagnant. Since 1911, this day has belonged to everyone who cares about equality, and we take our responsibility in this movement seriously.

Why the Industry Needs to Change

We observe firsthand that women are significantly underrepresented in our industry, particularly in technical production roles. There’s a persistent imbalance between the percentage of male and female crew members across the sector.

It’s also an uncomfortable truth that our industry’s culture – defined by constant travel and antisocial hours – impacts women heavily after they have children. Many women leave the profession entirely. While shared parental leave is becoming more socially acceptable for men, the unique physical demands on women in the early stages of parenthood still make it difficult for women to sustain a career in video production and raise a family.

Beyond logistics, women still experience everyday sexism. We’ve seen first-hand how female staff can be taken less seriously or treated with less respect than their male colleagues. Additionally, across the industry, women are still frequently pigeonholed into administration or coordination roles, while men are expected to handle the “heavy lifting” and manual tasks.

We believe our female colleagues should be celebrated for breaking these moulds despite the odds being stacked against them.

Equality as a Daily Operation

For us, gender equality isn’t an afterthought or a once-a-year social media post. It is baked into our day-to-day operations. We’re mindful to give our female colleagues technical production opportunities to enhance their skills. And we make a conscious effort to give consideration to female candidates when recruiting for permanent and freelance roles, given that they aren’t as well represented.

In instances where we’ve accidentally hired large all-male crews, we make a proactive effort to put the next opportunity in front of female crew members when recrewing those jobs. We also simply trust our female staff to get on with the work in the same way as their male colleagues – a point that shouldn’t need mentioning, but unfortunately still does.

Supporting Growth and Future Progress

Our strive for equality isn’t about hitting a gender quota; it’s about making sure we genuinely offer equal opportunities and are honest with ourselves when bias creeps into our decision-making.

We recognise that we can’t change the industry on our own. But like switching off the light when you leave a room, small actions add up. We all need to do our part to make a difference.

Are you a female freelancer working in video production or broadcast?

We really want to hear from women working in our industry who are looking for freelance opportunities, so that our odds of crewing jobs with an equal gender ratio improves. We can’t do this if you’re not part of it!

If you’re a female freelancer, please register with us so that we can put any opportunities we have in front of you. You can sign up here.