Women in Computer Graphics: Why is there a lack of them?

“Is being a CG artist a male-only profession?” We published this public poll on RENDERU.COM’s social media page before writing this article. Most of our readers (70%) voted against gender stereotypes. They agreed that only talent and determination matter. However, 9% said that men are better at working on computer graphics than women. Some of the reasons they gave included: girls are good at monotonous tasks, whilst men are better at creative work; and employees are afraid to hire women, as they might need maternity leave.

Here is a story shared by one of our female readers:
‘About three years ago, I had a job interview for a graphic designer position, for the first, and (in fact) last time in my life. HR liked my portfolio and my approach. There was only one thing that they did not like: my gender. They said that Artemy Lebedev (a famous Russian designer and businessman) was a man, and that I was a girl, therefore I would not succeed. I did not know what to reply.’

Statistics from animation educational programs show that girls are interested in studying the craft: there are more women enrolled in classes then men. ‘UCLA's master's program in animation is estimated to be 68% women, and Florida's Ringling College of Art and Design's computer animation program is nearly 70% women’, the Los Angeles Times reports.

What happens to the girls after graduation? The Animation Guild published that its organisation has almost 4000 artists, writers, and technicians working at studios in and around Los Angeles. Of these, just over 23% are women. The female/male breakdown at the Animation Guild’s larger signator studios looks to be roughly the same according to the Guild’s website.

‘They come out of art school and aren't hired for the creative jobs’, Marge Dean, co-president of the non-profit advocacy group, Women in Animation, told the Los Angeles Times. ‘They end up being PAs [personal assistants] or on the production management track, the housekeepers, and the organizers as opposed to the creators.’

In order to ascertain what is going on in the industry, RENDERU.COM interviewed two women (one from Australia, and one from Europe) who work in the “male” section of CG.

Jessica Sommerville, 3D artist, Animal Logic, Australia

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RENDERU.COM: Jessica, could you briefly tell us about your career path into CG?

Jessica Sommerville: I have felt fortunate, as my journey into the CG industry was fairly smooth. I was given my first full time job at a small commercials studio before I finished my degree in Digital Media. Shortly after completing that degree, I landed my first feature animation job at Animal Logic. Animal Logic is a great studio to work for, as they are one of the few that take on board both feature Animation and VFX work. They are the studio responsible for The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, and Happy Feet.
At present I still work at Animal Logic, and I have been at the studio for over three years now. For one and a half of those years, I worked out of the modelling department. For the last year, however, I have been working as a modeller out of the art department. I have been enjoying working out of the art department, as I still am able to work with, and liaise with the modelling team; building and designing props, sets and characters. I now feel like I have a greater creative input and say.

RENDERU.COM: Have you ever thought that CG is only for men, or heard that from other people?

J.S.: During my studies, I heard the CG industry being referred to as a boy’s club. However, the ratio of male to female students in my classes was fairly even, and both male and female students were treated equally. I didn’t give the boy’s club notion much consideration until I entered the industry, where the uneven distribution of women to men working in CG became apparent. Like most studios in the industry, at Animal Logic the ratios and distribution of women are uneven, though personally I have never felt that I have ever been treated any differently, or not been given the same opportunities as my male counterparts have because of my gender. In fact, I have actually felt that all my co-workers have been very encouraging and supportive of my progress.

RENDERU.COM: What are your observations of the gender balance in the industry?

J.S.: It surprised me when I first started at Animal Logic that I was the only woman in the modelling department. I received many comments from various people about how they had never met a girl who worked in the modelling department before. Unfortunately, the proportion of men in digital artist and technical roles is much higher compared with women. The statistics kindly provided to me by the HR department at Animal Logic in July 2016 reflect this. The gender split over the whole company is 70% male to 30% female. To give you an idea of the distribution, 15% of the Animation department are women, 13% of lighting are women, compared with production management where 75% are women. After speaking with other people, it would seem that this uneven gender departmental distribution is a trend across the industry. Hopefully this something that can be overcome with time.

I feel that because of the distribution ratios, assumptions can be made. I noticed when attending SIGGRAPH in Anaheim that most people would assume that I was either a coordinator, a recruiter, or that I worked in HR. I did find this a little discouraging, however I did not hold it against anyone. It was an easy mistake to make, as these roles are proportionally largely held by women. Though the aforementioned jobs can in no way be considered easy work, I witness first hand (on a daily basis) the stress and long hours that go into producing and coordinating. They are the glue that holds the production together. They liaise with all the departments.

RENDERU.COM: How would you comment on the feedback we received from Russian artists, that men are more suited to creative work, and women are better in menial tasks?

J.S.: I cannot agree with this belief. In my experience, this is not the case. In the art department I'm surrounded by talented women, who are really integral to the creative process. I see these women making important creative decisions on a daily basis that affect the vision, look, feel, and even the story of the film. We have women at the helm on some of our current projects: The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie. Both of these movies feature female art directors (Vivienne To and Felicity Coonan).

Dr. Diana Arellano, Research Associate, Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Chair of ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee.

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RENDERU.COM: Diana, why do you think there is a lack of women working in CG?

Diana Arellano: It is a combination of factors. You need to fragment the industry to see where women are indeed being hired, and where there is a lack of them. Most women can be found in roles where there are more organizational tasks, like producers. However, when it comes to creative tasks, technical tasks, or situations where decisions need to be made, you see a huge lack of women.

I would dare to say that you can now find more women animators than few years ago, and that may be a direct consequence of more women enrolling in such educational programmes. More and more, studios like Pixar, Disney, and so on are pushing forward to a more balanced working environment. A good sign is that many of their lead professionals (however, many of them are either producers, or HHRR) are involved in groups like Women in Animation (WIA), or take part in panels organised to talk about Women in CG.

What happens with more technical jobs? Let's take as an example: the field of Technical Directing. This is a job that mixes creativity, artistic skills, and technical skills. You would think that this is a good starting point for women, but it is not like that. Here the question is: are women intimidate by it, because it is still a male-dominated field? Do they find it appealing? In my experience, I see that most women enrolled in TD studies are not going for stuff like lighting, or VFX, or simulations. Instead, they go more for rigging, which goes hand in hand with animation, which I have the impression that women are more attracted to. One reason might be that some women find coding and scripting intimidating, while others are basically not interested in that. But this is something you can find with men as well.

RENDERU.COM: There is also a huge lack of women in leading positions. What is your opinion on why this happens?

D.A.: Well, the lack of women in high leadership positions is a direct consequence of the few women in the industry during the past 10-20 years. An obvious reason for that is the family-work balance, which basically does not exist in the industry. As I said before, this is something many studios are starting to take into consideration (for both male and female employees), which is awesome, but 5 years ago perhaps, nobody was talking about it, so if you wanted to have family, you basically said goodbye to the industry. Women couldn't build careers that might have made them a part of a future decision-makers group.

Additionally, it is no secret that CG has been a boy’s club. Go to SIGGRAPH, for instance, and even though you see many women (still on the floor where all the technical papers and courses are held) you will see very, very, very few women – even I became intimidated. Another female colleague of mine went to DIGIPRO 2016 (the conference on Digital Production, and celebrated parallel to SIGGRAPH), and it was her impression she was the only woman there!

RENDERU.COM: What can we do to alter the situation?

D.A.: One thing that we need to highlight is the lack of awareness. Some men and some women just don’t realise that the lack of women in the CG industry is a problem! By going to panels, events, and writing articles that are not too biased (and have a neutral perspective of the problem, and positive ideas for solutions) we are going forwards. Feminist, only-women groups are a thing of the past, in my opinion. We need to work together.

Education is a very powerful tool, but as one of our panellists said in a recent event at SIGGRAPH Asia: "the power of implicit bias cannot be underestimated". That means: what are we teaching our little boys and girls at home, and in the society that they live in? Dolls are for girls, and cars are for boys? Pink is for girls, and blue is for boys? Girls should not destroy toys to see what is inside, but boys can because it develops curiosity? Like that, we see that there is an implicit bias that needs to be removed, so that we can finally reach a balanced environment.

Policies also need to be made at company and government levels! I just read an article today about the problem of pensions for women in Switzerland. They are expected to be away from work for years (basically after giving birth and raising kids). Yes, that is a problem, but the solution cannot be: women, go back to work as soon as possible! What about their families? What about the physical state of a woman after birth (it doesn't go smoothly for the majority, and they need months to recover from the physical and hormonal strain they undergo)? A system that supports both men and women, and that recognises the importance of family is fundamental to achieving success.

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