INTRODUCTION On Method Building: A Half-Century of Research on Gender and Labour in the Italian Audiovisual Industries

This article introduces a special issue published in open access on Comunicazioni Sociali in May 2023. The issue examines the evolving research on gender and labour within the Italian audiovisual industries, spanning from the Fascist dictatorship to contemporary times. By retracing the professional roles of women in the Italian film sector, the issue offers diverse methodological approaches across various historical periods. It begins by reflecting on the longstanding struggles to establish the value of women's work in the audiovisual industry, particularly emphasizing how researchers navigate issues such as essentialist feminism and postfeminist individualism. The introduction highlights the methodological challenges scholars face in addressing gender disparities in these industries, including the effects of social class and institutional exclusion. The contributions within this special issue, produced by scholars based in Italy and abroad, draw on a wide range of research methods—archival work, oral histories, interviews, and quantitative data analyses, film analysis—to highlight the hidden labour and contributions of women in various audiovisual roles. Studies in the issue span several decades, exploring key moments in history, including the contributions of women in Fascist Italy, post-war film production, and contemporary TV series. This introductory article emphasizes that despite the historical challenges faced by women, including exclusion from top-tier positions, recent trends show progress toward addressing gender inequalities, although challenges remain, particularly for marginalized women, such as women of colour and older female professionals. In addition to reviewing past and present challenges faced by women in the audiovisual sector, the special issue underscores the importance of interdisciplinary and intersectional feminist methodologies. These approaches shed light on the intersecting dimensions of class, race, age, and regional disparities that shape women’s experiences in the Italian audiovisual labour market. The research presented ultimately calls for a coalition-based, intersectional approach to tackle systemic inequities and to push for better working conditions, equality, and representation in the film and media industries.