"Light Design and Lipstick" - Look at Women are Valued in Tech in European Theatres
Yuki Hochgemuth
We’re living in a time where male-female relationships in the workplace are something that’s being spoken about a lot. The world of stage management is also one where macho behavior is not uncommon and women are often underrepresented.
“I’ve never felt like, being a woman, I did my job any different from my male colleagues. I was part of the team, period. We started our day with black coffee and after we broke down we all had a bottle of beer.” Marijcke Voorsluis worked as a theater technician for ten years until 2002.
In the ’90s, there was no real educational program to become a theater technician in the Netherlands as there is now, and Marijcke went to the local theater in Utrecht, Netherlands, and asked to volunteer as a technician.
There, she met people who asked if she wanted to joint hem on tour – a paid job. “Maybe I stood out because I’m a woman, but you have to deliver good work to get paid jobs. I did change my outfits though: my punk stockings from my college years changed into black jeans, there were tools on my belt.”
Finding your place
There are not a lot of women who work in the technical department of theater. You’ll see small differences in every production and theater, but on average there’s one woman for every five men. In the Dutch technical sector in general, about 18% is female. This makes the Netherlands the country with the smallest percentage in Europe. Bulgaria is number one, with 41%.
Iris Rodenburg graduated as theater technician in 2018. “During my internships, I was usually the only woman in the crew. I found it difficult to find my place and position. It always depends on the crew. If your crew is fun, it’s no problem. But sometimes there are people who are more macho. They sometimes just won’t listen to you. Then I’m like, I’ve asked you something, why aren’t you listening?!”
In the technical department, there are usually two types of technicians: the ones who are employed by the theater and the ones employed by the (touring) production. In Iris’ case, it was usually the case that when she and her production went to a theater, the theater’s technicians found it difficult to listen to her.
Marijcke has had the same issues. “It once happened to me that when I was the technician in charge of the production’s crew, the theater’s crew just would not listen to me. They would only get up after my male colleague would ask them the same thing I’d just asked them. My colleague and I just made some sort of game out of it and clearly showed them we thought they were just a bunch of losers, but it’s actually really sad of course. Nowadays, as a woman, you’re still one of few in a workplace full of men, who won’t just accept you as part of the team. You have to prove yourself, more than your male colleagues do. Be better in your job, acknowledge your mistakes and fix them, and always do your part, even when it gets difficult. But that’s the case for everyone who’s know white and straight, not just for women.”
The more women, the better
Is it actually necessary for the technical workplace to have more women? Inge Brunink, a technician at Soldaat van Oranje – the musical, definitely thinks so. “It’s so important to have more women. We see things that men don’t, and we improve the ambiance between a group of men. And for the women who already work there, it’s more fun to have more female colleagues!”
Iris agrees. “More women in a group has a positive impact on the job and the work done. I feel like more women mean more connection and more immersion, also because women I’ve got a bit of a softer side.”
So the more women, the better? Melissa Vink, who promoted on Social, health- and organisation psychology, thinks so. Her research focusses on how men and women can work together in a profitable, long-term way. “It has been scientifically proven that a more diverse group if managed correctly, has a lot of benefits. They are often more creative, more productive, and have better solutions. It is understandable that people would prefer to work with people who think and are exactly like them, but if everyone thinks the same way, there’s less innovation.”
American studies show that 50% of the women in the technical field feel discriminated at work. That’s 10% more than women in other professional sectors.
Melissa: “There are still no equal chances. It’s easier for a man to get a job in the technical sector. For that reason, too, it’s ethically and morally important for women to get a job in the technical work field.”
Because you’ve got such pretty eyes
The same research states that a fifth of the women with a technical profession experiences sexual intimidation. In places where men are the big majority almost 50% of the women experience sexual intimidation in a problematic way. This research was done before the start of the #metoo-campaign.
Iris has experienced sexual intimidation as well, mostly as comments. “When I was working in Germany, there was a technician who made comments. It started pretty innocent but kept getting more and more annoying. Things like, “It’s so nice that you work here as a woman”, or “I’ll do that for you because you’ve got such pretty eyes.” I found it very uncomfortable, but it’s hard to say something about it.”
Marijcke can’t really remember really annoying things like “mocking or #metoo-things”, she says. “I remember getting a lot of respect and appreciation for what I did.”
A couple of years ago, Marijcke was in a theater for an international production. There was also a Dutch musical playing. “Their crew was in the foyer. They were all very young, under 30. There was one girl. The conversation started normal but became funnier while the girl got quieter. I eavesdropped and was shocked to hear a lot of sexism in everything the guys were saying. My mouth fell: these people were raised by the mothers and fathers from my generation – this is what we taught them?”
Melissa explains: ‘Men always feel like they have to prove themselves, they have to show how badass they are. This often manifests itself in making sexual jokes. That’s why we need more women too: we need a different culture. If you ask the individual man what he thinks of certain behavior, they most likely think it’s terrible. But because of this masculinity contest, this behavior stays normal.
Certain groups have got certain values, and they are about masculinity. The solution is changing the culture. And the more diverse a workplace is, the easier this will be.”