Resource type: 
Issue date: 
Wednesday, 25 November 2020

Capture of Demographic Data

What Data is Captured?

Counting Key Creatives

Our reporting focuses on comparing the entire application pool against those projects that are offered funding by the NZFC. It should be noted that a filmmaker’s demographic data can be included in our analyses more than once. This is because they are counted towards each project they are working on as well as every funding application that has been submitted for this project. This allows us to account for cases where a filmmaker is attached to multiple projects applying for funding, as well as cases where a project submits multiple applications within the reporting period. In addition, if a filmmaker is attached to multiple key creative roles (i.e., director and producer), then they are counted once in each category. 

Reporting on Ethnicity

Application forms are designed so that applicants can select multiple ethnicities for each filmmaker. The list consists of 180 ethnicities as listed under Level 4 of the Stats NZ Standard. For reporting purposes, each ethnicity is aggregated up to six categories that make up Level 1 of the Standard. The six categories are; European, Māori, Pacific Peoples, Asian, Middle Eastern/Latin American/African (MELAA), and Other Ethnicity.

The 'Total response output method' is used when interpreting this data. This method' counts every ethnic group that a person identifies with. People with responses which fall into more than one group are counted once in each group. For example, people of Samoan, Tongan and German ethnicities would be counted once in the Pacific category and once in the European category. This means that the sum of the ethnic groups can be greater than the number of key creatives listed in the application form.

For more details about the Standard, please refer to the Stats NZ website - Standard Classification for Ethnicity.

Headcount Method

The analysis of gender identity and ethnicity data is complex and multi-layered. For this reason, the NZFC has taken a two-step approach to measuring diversity. The first method is the Headcount method.  

The Headcount method considers the entire pool of filmmakers across key creative roles attached to projects applying and/or approved funding from the NZFC. Analysing the diversity of filmmakers across the entire pool of creatives allows the NZFC to answer questions such as, 'what proportion of filmmakers supported through production financing initiatives were female?'. We can analyse this even further and analyse the diversity across the different key creative roles which will allow for questions like "what proportion of directors supported through production financing initiatives were female? 

Project Count Method

The second approach to measuring diversity is the Project Count method. Unlike the Headcount method, this method does not focus on the wider pool of filmmakers, but instead focuses on measuring diversity within creative teams. This allows the NZFC to answer questions like, what proportion of funded projects had a female filmmaker attached and how many projects were female led? 

The purpose of this method is to understand how filmmakers of minority groups are represented across projects applying and approved funding from the NZFC. What is important here is to ensure that diverse filmmakers are not confined to a select few projects, but instead their voices are increasingly represented across a large proportion of projects applying for funding from the NZFC. 

Combined Methods for Reporting

In order to measure and fully understand any disparities between filmmakers of minority groups as well as the equal representation of genders, both the Headcount and Project count methods need to be interrogated. Both methods have advantages of reporting and analysing data from different angles and both provide informative views that allows the NZFC to identify areas of success and also areas needing attention. However, it is essential that the NZFC uses a combined method approach when using this information to drive change.  

For instance, equal representation of female and male creatives across the creative pool could be achieved (45%* respectively). Although a result like this is a step in the right direction and at first glance it may appear that female filmmakers are equally represented, what it doesn't show is the volume of projects that had the input and voices of female filmmakers among their creative team. This figure could be inflated by a handful of projects that had a large female presence.  

Therefore, it is equally important to use the Project count method to understand the representation of female filmmakers across projects. It could be found that less than 20% of projects had at least one female filmmaker attached. A figure like this could suggest that female creatives are in fact underrepresented. What this example shows is that in order to fully understand the representation of diverse creatives, it is important to interrogate the data using both methods in combination with each other. By doing so, the NZFC can ensure that different viewpoints are considered and not overlooked. The NZFC will use a combined method approached and will provide reporting using both methods. The NZFC will also use the insights collected from the combined method approach to inform change. 

* this figure is used for example purposes and is not attributed to a specific period 

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Last updated: 
Wednesday, 2 December 2020