Women photographers in Europe: a fresh, feminine approach

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of women in the field of photography after the second wave of feminism in Europe. Design/methodology/approach The grounded theory on the position of women in contemporary photography has been contrasted with the information collected by the authors in previous research studies on the presence of women photographers in the main museum collections in Europe. Findings Gender inequality in the various artistic disciplines is a current sociopolitical problem Western countries have been fighting against for several decades. After the resurgence of social movements in the USA and Europe in the 1960s, an artistic movement called feminist art emerged whose significance should be assessed. Research limitations/implications The paper proposed a general approximation, a foundation on the state of art, which may be implemented in the future with more data coming from other collections. It should be taken into account that this aim is a work in progress in a large scale of the research. Practical implications This paper includes implications for the development of a more efficient strategy to create a balance situation in the number of men and women photographers at the museum collections. Originality/value The paper identified a lack of practical analysis on the current averages of female photographers in art institutions.