Lost in the Virtual Abyss: Female Participation and Experience in Virtual Production Industry and Educational Contexts in Australia

The Virtual Production (VP) sector draws its workforce from other screen-based industries including film, games, animation, and visual effects, all of which have continued to reckon with how female-identifying people experience working in the sector. To date, research about gender equity in VP is scant, and in Australia, where the sector is undergoing an expansion, practically non-existent. We do not yet know the extent to which the lower participation of Australian women in pipeline screen industries and/or screen industry leadership roles has also entered the VP industry. Moreover, we know little about the experiences and approaches of educators who have taken the lead in teaching VP methods in tertiary settings. This chapter presents findings from pilot research we are developing about the opportunities and challenges for female-identifying and gender diverse workers in the Australian VP sector. With reference to long-form interviews with workers in VP, we analyse the impact of gender on people’s workplace experiences, including educational environments where workforces are nurtured and shaped and where expectations are generated about future workplace norms and relations. Our analysis of interview data explores these areas in industry and educational settings to offer insights into female-identifying workers’ participation in, and experience of, work in VP.