Go ahead… name 5 directors off the top of your head. Ok… got it? Now, many names that entered your head were actually women? What? None? Well don’t feel bad, because apparently not only are there very few women directors, producers, writers, cinematographers… but according to a new study, they’re actually DECREASING.
Reuters give us this:
Lauzen also concluded that there was a 4 percent decrease in the role of women in Hollywood since 2001. “Unfortunately, 21 percent of the films released in 2007 employed no women directors, producers, writers, cinematographers or editors,” Lauzen said. “Of course, no films failed to employ a man in at least one of these roles.”
In a breakdown, women accounted for 6 percent of directors, which is almost half of the women directors that worked in 2000 (11 percent). Lauzen also concluded that women accounted for 10 percent of writers, 22 percent of producers, 17 percent of editors and 2 percent of cinematographers in 2007.
This really is a sad commentary on the state of the film industry. However, I do have to ask a question that the study didn’t address. What is the percentage of women graduating from reputable film school and then actually pursuing a career in the industry? I have no idea what the answer to that is… but if 50% of film school grads are women who actively seek a career in the areas of Directing, Producing or Writing, then this is horrible news. But if only 20% of those grads are women… then that’s a totally different problem.
I mean, if 50% of qualified people for those key Hollywood jobs are women, then it’s a sad state that only 20ish% of those jobs are going to women. BUT… if only 20% percent of qualified people are women, then the problem isn’t Hollywood not hiring enough women, but rather more women need to get involved in the film industry.
