In recent years, the issue of gender equity has received greater attention.
In June 2016, the study “Women in Culture and Media” of the German Cultural Council was published, which contains data on the proportion of women in the individual branches of culture, in broadcasting, in education, in leadership positions, as well as the presentation of the legal instruments of gender equality policy in Germany and recommendations for action.
The BKM has made gender equality in the arts, culture and media a key concern of its policy. In the 2017 coalition agreement, the governing parties committed themselves to this,
“To further expand equality and gender justice in the arts, culture and media. This applies to leadership positions, appointments to juries and committees as well as decisions on grants and funding. Concrete measures include the “Round Table Women in Culture in Media” launched by the BKM in 2016, the establishment of a project office “Women in Culture and Media” at the German Cultural Council since 2017), the establishment of a “1:1 Mentoring Programme for Women” (since 2018), the publication of data reports (e.g.. “How female is the cultural industry?”), the commissioning of further studies (e.g. “Women in Culture and Media: A European Comparison” (2017)), the family-friendly design of scholarships and prizes (e.g. at Villa Massimo) and in 2018 the establishment of an independent trust office against sexual abuse and violence. The topic is also mentioned in the Coalition Agreement 2021 – in the form of advocacy for gender equality and closing the GenderPayGap and juries with equal and diverse representation. (see also 2.1)
Women artists have founded their own networks and associations to represent their interests and exchange ideas. One of the cross-disciplinary associations is GEDOK (https://gedok.de/), which was founded as early as 1926 as the Gemeinschaft Deutscher und Österreichischer Künstlerinnenvereine aller Kunstgenattung. The aim of GEDOK today is to present the work and achievements of women artists through exhibitions, events, etc. and to improve the special living and working situation of women artists. GEDOK is committed to the gender-equitable shaping of all areas of cultural life. Its instruments include the awarding of prizes and the organisation of competitions. In addition, there are sector-specific networks such as the “BücherFrauen” (since 1990), the archive “Frau und Musik” (since 1979), “Pro Quote Direction” and “Pro Quote Media” (since 2012).
The Gabriele Münter Prize, established in 1994, stands out in the prize landscape at the federal level. It was offered by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in cooperation with the BBK, theGEDOK and the Frauenmuseum Bonn and is an art prize endowed with 20,000 euros for the life’s work of professional women artists aged 40 and over. It was awarded for the last time in 2017.
Institutions for the promotion of equality have also been established at the state and municipal level, such as the Frauen-Kulturbüro NRW (Women’s Cultural Office NRW), founded in 1991, whose aim is to make women more visible, realised, among other things, through the awarding of the NRW Women Artists’ Prize, the awarding of scholarships, the holding of further training courses and the publication of studies (e.g. on the participation of women in NRW: “Frauen in Kunst und Kultur – Zwischen neuem Selbstbewusstsein und Quotenförderung” (Women in Art and Culture – Between New Self-Confidence and the Promotion of Quotas). The world’s first women’s museum was also founded in Bonn in 1981, where more than 700 exhibitions have been held since its inception. Over 3 000 works by women artists were shown. In the meantime, women’s museums have also been opened in Berlin, Bremen and Wiesbaden.
Also worth mentioning is the “International Women’s Film Festival Dortmund Cologne” (https://frauenfilmfest.com/), which emerged from the film festivals “femme fatale” in Dortmund and the “Feminale” in Cologne founded in the1980s and which, in addition to the annual international competition, is dedicated to networking women from various trades in the film industry.
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