Supporting Carers & Parents in the Irish Creative Screen Industries

Raising Films Ireland seeks to create a more diverse, inclusive, equitable and sustainable working environment for carers & parents within the Irish creative screen industries.

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A man and woman at work. The woman is holding a walkie-talkie, the man is holding a boom mic

A woman with her arm around an elderly woman, and the man is holding a baby

As a middle aged woman, I sometimes feel invisible. As a carer I have to fight for every moment I get and it's almost resented. I often don't get paid for my work so my family see my work as irrelevant because of that.
There is a need for short term, regular hours, job share and part-time jobs…Also, flexibility around how often face to face is needed and what can be achieved from home.
When you are a parent you have financial responsibilities to your children so giving up the day job for the dream is not something I can do. This means I write mostly at night when the kids are in bed.
Film & TV companies don't advocate for work/life balance in my experience. So I took my experience elsewhere and left the industry. I still miss it, but not the hours, not the exhaustion, not the 24/7 access to your life that's expected.
I used to have to bring my daughter to auditions and I could tell it really annoyed casting directors. I didn't
have any support network which meant I had to let that dream die.
There's a presumption women can do it all, even those with partners, the vast majority of house and childcare falls to the woman.
When you are a parent you have financial responsibilites to your children so giving up the day job for the dream is not something I can do.
I’m in my 40s, with a mortgage and a family... the feast and famine nature of paid creative work has worn me down. There’s a reason why most of the people I work with are half my age - they’re able to absorb this better than someone in my position.
12-16 hour days, barely any breaks, travel demands and to boot pretty terrible pay for such working conditions. There’s no way I could raise a family the way I want to and work in this industry.
I really like the Danish model of shorter working days but longer shoot periods and I wonder, is this something that can be introduced in Ireland?
Screenwriting is all I want to do as a full time career but the reality is so few writers have the luxury to do this and it's a very tough industry to break in.
It was a very isolating time and I thought I wouldn't be able to work in the industry. I cannot tell you how important it was for me to discover that Raising Films existed. To know that I wasn’t alone, and that the ground is shifting.
The dream is to write and direct my own work but I know directing is not something I can practically do until the kids are much older.
I've been told to give it up until the kids are older so many times. I've been told you're too late to join the game if you can't network the way you need to. But I look at my kids and want to inspire them to follow their dreams.
I would love to get back to TV if it were possible for job share Producer work but those positions don’t seem to be available at the moment. Maybe this is something we can change!

Latest News & Resources

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03 Dec 2025 Celebrating two years of our Mentorship Scheme

29 Nov 2025 Managing Careers Panel

14 Jun 2025 Job Sharing Day 2025

Of our 455 Survey Respondents

73% are currently caring for a child or another person, or have in the past

97% of single, solo parents or carers are women

79% are looking after children, the majority of whom are primary-school age

14% are caring for parents

From our ‘Pursuit of Change’ Report 2021

Supporting Carers & Parents in the Irish Creative Screen Industries

As a middle aged woman, I sometimes feel invisible. As a carer I have to fight for every moment I get and it's almost resented. I often don't get paid for my work so my family see my work as irrelevant because of that.

There is a need for short term, regular hours, job share and part-time jobs…Also, flexibility around how often face to face is needed and what can be achieved from home.

When you are a parent you have financial responsibilities to your children so giving up the day job for the dream is not something I can do. This means I write mostly at night when the kids are in bed.

Film & TV companies don't advocate for work/life balance in my experience. So I took my experience elsewhere and left the industry. I still miss it, but not the hours, not the exhaustion, not the 24/7 access to your life that's expected.

I used to have to bring my daughter to auditions and I could tell it really annoyed casting directors. I didn't have any support network which meant I had to let that dream die.

There's a presumption women can do it all, even those with partners, the vast majority of house and childcare falls to the woman.

When you are a parent you have financial responsibilites to your children so giving up the day job for the dream is not something I can do.

I’m in my 40s, with a mortgage and a family... the feast and famine nature of paid creative work has worn me down. There’s a reason why most of the people I work with are half my age - they’re able to absorb this better than someone in my position.

12-16 hour days, barely any breaks, travel demands and to boot pretty terrible pay for such working conditions. There’s no way I could raise a family the way I want to and work in this industry.

I really like the Danish model of shorter working days but longer shoot periods and I wonder, is this something that can be introduced in Ireland?

Screenwriting is all I want to do as a full time career but the reality is so few writers have the luxury to do this and it's a very tough industry to break in.

It was a very isolating time and I thought I wouldn't be able to work in the industry. I cannot tell you how important it was for me to discover that Raising Films existed. To know that I wasn’t alone, and that the ground is shifting.

The dream is to write and direct my own work but I know directing is not something I can practically do until the kids are much older.

I've been told to give it up until the kids are older so many times. I've been told you're too late to join the game if you can't network the way you need to. But I look at my kids and want to inspire them to follow their dreams.

I would love to get back to TV if it were possible for job share Producer work but those positions don’t seem to be available at the moment. Maybe this is something we can change!

Latest News & Resources

Of our 455 Survey Respondents

I used to have to bring my daughter to auditions and I could tell it really annoyed casting directors. I didn't
have any support network which meant I had to let that dream die.