Research in Animation: Methodology and Future of the MIA Report

Abstract

For Maureen Furniss (2014), women have managed to achieve positions of power within the audiovisual industry, developing a greater sense of group identity among women in all aspects of the field. With this reflection, Furniss, in the chapter of the book Art in Motion dedicated to the problems of representation in animation, sought to give visibility to the situation of women in this sector. The author does not mention specific data, but several groups have currently attempted to determine this reality. At the Spanish state level, there are some statistics that, initially, are limited to general information and that give us, to a certain extent, a vision of how the sector has changed in the last decade. Gender equality and the strengthening of the social role of women and girls are included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, approved by the United Nations Organization, in which Spain, along with 180 other states, assumed this commitment, which is articulated in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All this at a time when, although "we find women in animation studios, filming, and in schools that teach this technique, the percentage of women in artistic positions remains a minority, as is the case in the rest of the audiovisual industry" (Martínez Pérez and Cuenca Orellana, 2020: 108). After reviewing the data provided by the 2022-2023 Women In Animation (WIA) report, in the United States, the number of female creatives has increased to 34%, “(...) a more than 50% increase since 2013 — but there is still much work to be done to reach gender parity within the animation, VFX, and gaming fields” (WIA, 2022-2023: 4). And not only in the creative or artistic fields and in positions of responsibility and authorship, but professions linked to technique and technology have an even much lower figure compared to the positions occupied by the male sector.