CTVglobemedia is renewing its commitment to the Creative Women Workshops Association and will inject $335,000 towards programs that cultivate and support women filmmakers.

The CWWA has drawn such well-known directors as Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park), Léa Pool (Maman est chez le coiffeur) and Norma Bailey (Eight Days to Live) to lead the Women in the Director’s Chair program. It is presented every year in partnership with The Banff Centre for the Arts and ACTRA.

WIDC has backed such Canadian talents as Little Mosque on the Prairie creator Zarqa Nawaz and Sherry White (Hatching, Matching & Dispatching).

The funds, which come from the CTVgm/CHUM benefits package, are directed towards three CWWA initiatives — namely, the Career Advancement Module, the Director Development Award and a scholarship fund.

‘It’s important to invest in practical, hands-on initiatives to encourage under-represented voices and new, original content,’ commented CTV programming boss Susanne Boyce in a release.

‘CTV’s ongoing financial support answers a call to help break the patterns of gender stereotyping that sadly still exist,’ added WIDC producer Carol Whiteman.