The status of women in the creative and cultural industries remains precarious. This comparative analysis provides insights from seven key economies to help understand progress towards gender equality in culture and the arts and the broader cultural economy.With empirical and policy analysis spanning Europe and the US, the authors investigate the extent to which gender equality has entered the mainstream along dimensions of leadership, access and awards, pay and pension gaps, work-life balance, and the monitoring of gender equality. While many of the structural barriers have been erased, countries differ significantly in how much gender equality has been achieved in the creative economy and how much female talent is lost and unrecognized.This book is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners across the human and social sciences, especially those involved with arts management and the creative or cultural economy more broadly.