Addressing the Gender Imbalance in the Photographic Industry

It’s been a well-known fact for some time that the gender gap stubbornly persists. However, whether we’re talking about pay, leadership positions, assignments or exposure, research continues to show that we’re still seeing a lack of female representation in this industry, with gender bias and inequality still very much a part of this creative sector in the UK.

For this talk, the 70:15:40 Project UK brings together an expert panel of gatekeepers to unravel the current situation around gender, opportunity and the importance of the female gaze in the industry. Covering the areas of broadcast, journalism, advertising and the museum/gallery sector panellists include: Head of Creative Content & Stories at Save the Children - Ivy Lahon; Head of Photo and AV at Netflix - Melissa Terrelonge; Curator/Writer - Carrie Scott; CEO of The Association of Photographers - Isabelle Doran.
Registered attendees will be able to submit questions to the panel and a chance to see the exhibition and network will follow the talk.

The 70:15:40 Project UK was initiated by MPB and supported by the Royal Photographic Society, Peerspace, SheClicks and UKBFTOG, to highlight the gender imbalance within the photographic and videography industries. Set up as a national competition through an open call, the four finalists Roman Manfredi, Violeta Sofia, Hanna Ali and Paloma Tendero received financial support, mentoring, and equipment & studio hire as well as the opportunity to show their new work in this celebratory exhibition which runs until 3 December (Mon-Fri: 11am—5pm, Sat/Sun: 10-5pm). For more information on the project and other talks please visit here.

The event is hosted in Gallery 2, The Handbag Factory, 3 Loughborough St, London SE11 5RB. The closest train station is Vauxhall, which is accessible via the Victoria Tube line or South Western Rail.

The Panel

Isabelle Doran : Mediator

Isabelle Doran is CEO of the Association of Photographers - a trade association representing over 3,000 members, set up in 1968 with the aim of protecting and championing the rights of photographers and image-makers working in the creative industries.

Throughout her professional career as a photography graduate, Isabelle has been both a supplier and client within the image industry. Her background began in traditional darkroom practice with Tony Stone, and after spells at Magnum Photos, where she commissioned commercial shoots and stock sales for ad and design agencies on brands ranging from Absolut, Sky, and Universal to charities such as St. Mungo’s and Amnesty International, as well as working at Luminous Design, and Conran.

Following the completion of a Masters in Museum Management, she ran a lifestyle photo library for 14 years. During that time, she became a non-exec director for 9 years and chaired BAPLA for 5 years, working closely with representatives from picture libraries & agencies, museums and archives, as well as a wide range of creative industry legal and policy representative.

Ivy Lahon

Ivy Lahon is Head of Creative Content and Stories at Save The Children and oversees the production of visual content, photography, and film worldwide, as well as commissioning reportage, creative documentary photography, and multimedia. Ivy has produced large-scale, multi-channel campaigns and photography and film productions across broadcast TV, print, digital and PR, working with both in-house creative teams and external Creative agencies.

Prior to moving to NGO’s, Ivy worked for ten years as Associate Picture Editor at The Independent and ‘i’ paper commissioning news, portraiture and features photography during some of the biggest breaking global news stories of the decade. In the past, she has freelanced on picture desks at The Guardian, The Times and Sunday Times and the FT Magazine and spent 2 years working with Amnesty International on photographic projects, including the first book by former Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan and the imagery for Amnesty’s 50th anniversary in 2011.

She is a visiting lecturer in Photography and NGO communications for UK universities, including the Royal College of Art, London College of Communication, London Metropolitan, Cardiff University and The University of South Wales and has mentored young photographers for over 7 years. Ivy is interested in new takes on classic photojournalism, innovative ways of humanitarian storytelling and the cross-over between fine art and documentary photography.

Carrie Scott

Carrie Scott, is an American/English curator, art historian, and TV presenter. Over the past two decades, she has collaborated with galleries, businesses, collectors, and artists globally. She began her career as curator of the Hedreen Gallery at Seattle University's Lee Center for The Arts, a position she continued to hold when she was also Director of the James Harris Gallery in Seattle from 2006-2008. Known for spotting talent early, she curated Rashid Johnson’s first major solo show in 2007 and later became Director of the Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery in New York.

In 2009, she launched Carrie Scott & Partners, working closely with artists like John Pawson, Bindi Vora, Walter & Zoniel, Marina Shacola, Casey Moore, and The Harold Feinstein Estate. She spent a decade as curator and director of Nick Knight’s archive and was a key presenter of The Art Show on Sky Arts.

Carrie has curated exhibitions worldwide, including at the Daelim Museum in South Korea, The Mass in Japan, and various shows in London and New York. In 2018, she curated the largest independent photography show for The Store X, 180 Strand in London and in 2024, she founded Seen.

Melissa Terrelonge

Melissa is the current Head of Photo & AV for Netflix UK, where she has been for over six years working with a broad spectrum of photographers across many disciplines.

Realising that representation and diversity was an issue behind the lens in the Film & TV Industry she created Diversity Behind The Lens. Born from the realisation that the situation wasn’t due to a lack of talent but rather a lack of access and opportunity, she sought about making small changes that would eventually lead to big opportunities. Alongside co-founder Nick Bull (VP at Film Solution) they reached out to other creative professionals from across the Film and TV Entertainment sector including BBC Studios, Sky & ITV Studios and Paramount+ who came together to address and tackle the lack of diversity in publicity and marketing photography and creative production in the UK.

In March 2024 they held the first Diversity Behind The Lens networking event at Netflix with over forty photographers invited from under represented backgrounds as well as renowned photographers Misan Harriman, Des Willie and Parisa Tag serving to bridge the gap between access and opportunity.

Host or Publisher MPB