Women in Animation (WIA) has published its annual impact report this week, looking back on its initiatives and advocacy efforts in 2023/2024.
Helping the animation/VFX and gaming industry achieve gender parity has been one of the org’s major long-term goals. And promising data from the Animation Guild shows that the number of working creatives who fall into underrepresented gender identities category, which includes women and gender non-binary people, has hit 34% (an increase of more than 50% over the last decade). But WIA cautions that the effects of the ongoing market downturn might have an impact on future employment for these groups.
“This past year has been challenging, with increased unemployment due to fewer animation productions,” said WIA president Marge Dean, who has led the org for the past 10 years. She highlighted the notable creation of a fund designed to cover membership fees for animators who can’t afford to pay them. “I’m thrilled to share that we raised enough to support 1,000 members with creator-level memberships for a year.”
WIA memberships are categorized by the amount of an individual’s annual donation, with tiers for makers (US$25), creators (US$50), innovators (US$100) and trailblazers (US$250). The org also introduced a free tier this year to make its community more accessible.
Generating US$1.16 million in revenue, WIA covered expenses totalling US$1.18 million this year, with most of its spending going to communities (24%), mentorship (19%) and its World Summit event at Annecy (15%). According to the report, WIA has “strategically begun investing in diversifying our revenue sources, with an increased emphasis on securing grants.”
The org’s nine-year-old global mentorship program (featuring “circles” in which a seasoned animation professional serves as a mentor to between six and 10 mentees drawn from the top three membership tiers) facilitated a record-setting 51 circles in spring 2024. Buoyed by increased funding from sponsors, this round supported 335 mentees, representing a 27% jump from the previous year. And the plan for a fall round that’s currently in development is to have more than 50 circles operating across 11 countries.
Among other milestones, the org welcomed new affiliate WIA Nepal this year and also picked up 3,000 new followers on social media platforms, signaling more momentum.
The full WIA 2023-2024 impact report is available to download here.