Women in the Italian television industry: Tradition or innovation?

Abstract

Starting from the hypothesis that gender is embedded in the global contemporary society’s individual, interactional and institutional dimensions, this research proposes recognizing female employment and empowerment in major Italian audio-visual companies. A progressive increase in the representation of women in creative, productive and managerial positions within Italian television can create a greater understanding of the difficulties of being a working woman and provide the added value of a female presence in Italian audio-visual companies. In addition to official data, this article analyses the primary data of 30 in-depth interviews with TV producers, authors and managers of successful Italian television programmes. This methodology aims to trace a set of personal and professional career trajectories and their distinctive and innovative contributions to Italian audio-visual industries. My intention is to highlight which Italian production contexts are currently favourable to the empowerment of women workers in the television industry and outline future trends.