Over the Top (OTT) media services could have been a game changer with the enormous scope they offer for diversity. However, a new research paper has revealed that the digital platform is gendered and biased.
The Mid-Day quoted the research paper by Smith Mehta, ‘Where are the Women? Gendered Indian Digital Production Cultures Post #Metoo’, as part of a research fellowship from the Center for Advanced Internet Studies, Germany. The paper shows how the digital platform offers little room for diversity of talent and content.
The report has quoted him as saying, “The idea was to pursue a gender-based research where I looked at all above-the-line [ATL] professions in web series, like producer, head of the production, creative producer, director, director of photography and writer, through binaries—men and women.”
The paper studies over 350 shows produced across platforms between 2014 and 2020. It has been found that though there is an increase in opportunities, the space remains inequitable.
The paper has revealed that ‘of 2,525 people employed in these key professions, only 496 were women [20 percent] against 2,029 men’. The news report has also said that the Screenwriters Association has no data on the number of women and men registered and that the Producers Guild of India hasn’t had a woman chairperson since 1954.
While the #MeTooMovement was supposed to expose the manipulation and power wielded by men in the industry, Smith’s research, which also includes interviews with those in the industry, has found out it has resulted in the exclusion of women who have raised their voices against exploitation. His paper also shows there is considerable bias against color and language.
