Episode 33 - Polly Kemp from ERA50:50

Today’s episode we are joined by the incredible female that is Polly Kemp. Actress, Co-founder of the wonderful ERA50:50 campaign and amazing human. ERA (Equal Representation for Actresses) is a movement of actresses in the UK set up in 2015 by actresses Lizzie Berrington and Polly Kemp. It was set up in response to the Geena Davis Institute publication ‘Gender Bias Without Borders’ report on gender in the media revealing the staggering ratio of 2:1 actors to every actress and an average of 17% female representation in crowd scenes in films The first meeting was attended by a fabulous and diverse range of women of all ages and profile. As a result, Polly and Lizzie felt they had a mandate to create and pursue this campaign. Most of 2016 was spent pounding the streets making as many contacts as possible and honing what and where the problem lay and developing solutions. Early on Polly and Lizzie enlisted the help of designer and project manager Karin Paynter who designed the badges and communications and quickly became the heart of the campaign alongside a core group of actresses who worked hard to ensure that the ERA badge became an essential accessory at red carpet events. Actress Deirdre Mullins who attended the first meeting has continued to be the main driver of a team lobbying Parliament for policy change and generating sponsorship. Over 200 high profile actresses, actors and industry leaders have worn our badge, most recently Claire Foy and Emma Watson at the Golden Globes, making this one of the most exciting industry led campaigns in recent times. Website: https://equalrepresentationforactresses.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/ERA50_50 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/era50_50/