How women artists put themselves at a disadvantage

One thing women artists can stop doing

If you know me (and the Less Than Half approach), you know I like numbers. I like them because they can reveal something very quickly about the state of affairs in any given situation.*

No I have no idea what this means, but you get the point

Consider this data study, for example, which surveyed Dutch artists. At first glance, it’s nothing special. It says some things that we’re not too surprised about— as artists, women earn less than men. Tell me something I don’t know.

But my ears perked up when I read these stats:

Women… apply for fewer subsidies [than men], and also receive them less often. “Research into three subsidy arrangements from the Mondriaan Fonds shows that 52 percent of the total awarded amounts goes to men, 45 percent goes to women, and three percent goes to non-binary artists and others who did not fill in a gender on their application form,” said the foundation.

Artists also earn money by winning prizes... There is equality among the winners, said the Boekman Foundation.

“The split between the amount of female winners (54 percent) and male winners (43 percent) reflects the ratio in the job market. The remaining 3 percent consists of an artist collective.”