Why #metoo is just the beginning
I know this is unconventional for a Monday morning. But bear with me.
I spotted a recce party in town last week. 30 strong. All men. All white.
In the era of #metoo, anyone really connected to the industry knows that it is going to take a long time to catch up.
Having been an AD for twenty years with two children, I’ve had to work out a way whereby I can be brilliant at my job, Chair the Pre-School and attend the odd school play. It’s been tough. Luckily, I have been supported by world-class (male) 1st ADs who are enlightened and who have supported me to be a mother and a successful AD.
I‘ve worked on the biggest movies in the world, am a DGA member & have been repeatedly hired because I am the best person for the job and I lead by example; by nurturing, supporting and caring for those around me, by getting the job done with intellect, thoughtfulness and kindness.
But the truth is, that while the guys who started when I did are now 1st ADs or Producers, most of the girls have retrained and are no longer in the industry.
I understand why, and I too wanted to see more of my children, support them as they start secondary school and watch them grow. Having done Mission: Impossible as Key 2nd AD last year, travelling the world on the back of Tom Cruise’s coattails, I decided to join We Got POP.
POP is the company we all mean when we talk about the future of the industry.
POP is female founded and the leadership team consists of 80% women. Within Engineering we smash the gender stats out of the park and have a truly international and diverse workforce. We’ve grown from 2 staff to 38 in four years, launched in the US and secured £2.5m in funding. It is a real diversity success story.
As women [leaders], we are lucky to have made it this far and lucky to be in a position to be able to set the programme for the future. We are film professionals who want to partner with the industry - to build technology, to embrace the future and try to make things better.
Do you want to join our drive to improve and enable diversity across the industry? If so, we’d love to hear from you - drop us a note on hello@wegotpop.com
I hope our paths will cross in the future when the revolution, both technical and sociological, is well and truly underway.
Chloe