Journalist and critic Jane Howard has been awarded the 2019 Walkley Arts Journalism Prize for her article How Australian theatre rebalanced its gender disparity, which was published by ABC Arts in April. The prize, awarded by the Walkley Foundation at its Mid-Year Awards Ceremony, recognises significant contributions in reporting, writing, news-breaking and analysis of arts issues.

Journalist and critic Jane Howard. Photo © Adam Hollingworth

Howard’s story, which has resonated widely throughout the arts community, examines the changes in gender balance in Australian theatre that have occurred in the 10 years since Neil Armfield’s final season as Artistic Director of Sydney’s Belvoir St Theatre in 2009, in which only one of the seven mainstage productions included a woman writer or director.

“In that year, at the eight best-funded Australian theatre companies – members of the Major Performing Arts Group (MPAG) – just 24 per cent of plays were written by women, and 24 per cent were directed by women. A staggering 86 per cent of productions had at least one man as writer or director,” Howard wrote. “In 2019, women will make up 47 per cent of playwrights and 58 per cent...