Women in Theatre: Here, There, Everywhere, And Nowhere‪.‬

This article examines the status of women in theatre in the early twenty-first century and determines that while there has been some improvement in Canada in the last twenty-five years, women still lag behind men in terms of employment in key creative positions Studies show that only 30-35% of the nation's artistic directors are female and that this limits the production of work by female playwrights and the hiring of female directors. Problems are further exacerbated where there is limited provincial and corporate funding, as in Atlantic Canada. Little money, combined with a greater likelihood that work by female playwrights will be defined as risky and less attractive for sponsors and mainstream theatres, further restricts opportunities for women in theatre. Women also identify traditional hierarchical practices in the theatre industry and social policies, which fail to provide parental leave for self-employed workers or adequate publicly-funded daycare, as barriers to their participation. While increased government funding would help all theatre professionals, including women, and women can support one another through networking and mentorship, the theatre community must actively identify and change the practices that lead to gender inequity. Le present article porte sur le statut des femmes en theatre au debut du XXIe siecle. Burton et Green constatent que s'il y a eu une certaine amelioration au Canada au cours des vingt-cinq dernieres annees, les femmes qui ouvrent dans ce secteur accusent encore un retard par rapport aux hommes en termes d'emplois dans des positions-cles en creation. En effet, des etudes demontrent que la direction artistique des compagnies canadiennes n'est confiee a une femme que dans 30 a 35 % des cas, ce qui limite la production d'oeuvres signees par des dramaturges de sexe feminin et l'embauche de metteures en scene. L'inegalite est d'autant plus exacerbee la ou les subventions accordees par l'administration provinciale et issues du secteur prive sont limitees, comme c'est le cas au Canada atlantique par exemple. Le peu de financement, de paire avec l'impression qu'une ouvre signee par une dramaturge constitue un plus grand risque et donc un moins grand attrait pour les subventionnaires et les theatres populaires, sont des obstacles supplementaires que doit surmonter la femme en theatre.