Think of the three most famous directors in Hollywood you know off the top of your head. Who’d you think of?
Names like Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch?
Okay now name three women directors. Can you even think of one?
It’s no new information that women tend to be less represented in positions of power. But we are living in a new age of Hollywood. Women are sick of not being treated fairly in the workplace. According to a survey done by Cosmo of over 2,000 women in full time and part time jobs, one in three from ages 18 to 34 have been sexually harassed at work. 71% of these women did not report it. Research has shown that women in male-dominated occupations are sexually harassed more than women in balanced or in female-dominated ones. This is most obviously evident from the recent Hollywood sexual misconduct scandals. And film and television are a heavily male-dominated field.
The Golden Globes, the start of the award's season, was on January 7. And it was a lot of things. It was intense, it was exciting, it was incredible. The main talking point of the night was the Times’ Up campaign, led by hundreds of leading women in Hollywood. Almost every person on the red carpet that night was dressed in black, showing solidarity for the movement. The Time’s Up campaign is a call for change from the women in the entertainment industry to women everywhere.
With all that has happened in the last few months regarding sexual assault and harassment in the workplace, this campaign is geared towards changing this imbalance of power. Their legal defense fund has made up to 15 MILLION dollars from over 60 countries. Thanks to the countless brave women who stood up and said #MeToo, this industry is changing.
According to Center For the Study of Women in Television and Film, in 2015, women accounted for 27% of producers, 21% of executive producers, 18% of editors, 13% of writers, 13% of directors, and 9% of cinematographers. Those are statistics for the number of women in all of film and television. But according to Women and Hollywood, out of the 100 top grossing films in 2016, women represented 4% of directors, 11% of writers, 3% of cinematographers, 19% of producers, and 14% of editors. We are seriously lacking in women directors and cinematographers on the big screen.
This is also evident from looking at the history of the Oscars. Only four female directors have ever been nominated for Best Director, Lina Wertmuller(Seven Beauties), Jane Campion(The Piano), Sofia Coppola(Lost in Translation), and Kathryn Bigelow(Hurt Locker). Out of those four, Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to ever win. A woman has never been nominated in the best cinematographer category at the Academy Awards.
Someplace where women can be accounted for is starring in film and television. According to the Center For the Study of Women in Television and Film, 42% of speaking characters in television are women. Not only that but this year the three top-grossing films featured women in the lead roles for the first time in decades. Star Wars finished 2017 at $533 million, Beauty and The Beast with $504 million, and Wonder Woman with $412.6 million. According to The Wrap, the last time the three top-grossing films were all women-led was in 1958, with South Pacific, Auntie Mame, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
There are a number of resources becoming available for aspiring female filmmakers. The organization Women in Film offers almost 150 different resources for women to learn and grow as filmmakers in this male-dominated world. They provide resources such as workshops, internships, fellowships, pitching forums, fiscal sponsorship, and more.
So how long will it take until women and men are equally represented and respected in the film and television industry? It won’t happen overnight, but it can be done. With the efforts of so many men and women right now striving to make the industry equal, I have no doubt one day we can find a balance of power in the industry.