Here's a shocking stat: 65% of photography graduates are women, the overwhelming majority, but only about 20% of professional photographers are female. This is according to Hundred Heroines.
The same is true of artists according to the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Why could this be? Some sexists will no doubt assume that women aren't as competent at photography as men and can't cut it as pro photographers, but as a female pro portrait shooter, I just don't think that's true.
I've thought of a few alternative reasons. Firstly, photography is usually a solitary business and means being self-employed – and not everyone wants the insecurity of not having a stable employer. This may be a generalisation, but women are often more sensible than men and take fewer risks, especially with our incomes. We hustle less, throw caution to the wind less, and may look at the market and decide that the failure rate isn't worth it. There's too much competition out there and not enough work.
I personally have the financial advantages of a paid-off house and a husband who brings in a regular salary, but not everyone does. I'm willing to admit that I don't have enough photography clients and don't charge enough for my services.
While female graduates may love photography as an art, many will look at the precarious business of self-employment and decide they don't want to have to fret each month about securing enough commissions to pay their energy bills. They might decide to keep photography as a fun and creative evening or weekend hobby and enter a more secure and lucrative profession instead – one in which we don't have to work unsociable hours (as wedding and event photographers often do, which can put a strain on relationships and make childcare difficult).
Then we come to the pains of travelling – getting shoulder strain from lugging a heavy tripod, lighting equipment, two camera bodies and multiple lenses around the country is a slog. But fewer women drive than men, and those who do drive tend to drive fewer miles and feel less confident about their driving abilities, even though we're safer drivers and our insurance premiums reflect that (we have 50% fewer fatal accidents and submit 50% fewer 'at fault' car insurance claims).
In the US, men spend a lot more time on the road, driving up to 50% more miles per year and making up the majority of total time spent behind the wheel, and in some countries driving is even more stacked against women – UK stats from the National Travel Survey tells us that 71% of women possess a full car driving licence compared to 81% of men.
And, speaking as a woman, I can say that being out on the road late at night often feels more risky. Travelling using public transport late at night is doubly worrying for female non-drivers, heaving along a ton of photography equipment, so being slowed down by it. Being solo emphasizes the risk others can pose.
But okay, say we're travelling during the day in a local area that is known to us. I'm a female portrait photographer and I've often been asked to photograph clients in their houses.
Where they're female I feel safer, but even if they're female, I don't know who else is going to be in that house. I feel that refusing and asking them to meet me on location in a public place, or to travel to me instead, is effectively turning down work – but it's also taking a risk to enter someone's house when I've never met them before and don't know the other inhabitants of that property.
Maybe this seems over-cautious, but when one in five women in the United States have experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and 81% of American women have undergone some form of sexual harassment or assault (same source), then being extremely careful where you go and who you see is surely wise rather than an overreaction?
I figure that these three reasons are more likely to be behind the fact that 80% of professional photographers are men, rather than them having more creative and technical ability.
I hired a female photographer for our wedding, who did an amazing job – and if you look at my portraits here, I reckon I can hold my own too. But sadly, until the world is a safer and less competitive place, I think we'll continue to see an imbalance between the sexes when it comes to photography.
