Status of Women in the Industry: Articles and Studies
Hollywood Pipeline: Still a Pipe Dream for Women?
By Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Martha M. Lauzen, Huffington Post, 2/22/2013
"Have we ever questioned what constitutes the pipeline for women working in film? Where does it begin? Is the launch pad graduation from top film and television schools across the country? Success with independent features? Short films?" Full story.
Sundance, the Oscars and the Decline of Film Criticism—Not Just a Lady Problem
By Roya Rastegar, The Nation, 2/22/2013
"Critics almost exclusively eviscerated the feature films directed by women that premiered at Sundance this year." Full story.
Why Women in Hollywood Can't Get Film Financing
By Lauren Sandler, Bloomberg, 2/21/2013
"Director Jill Soloway says the system won’t change until complicated “women’s films” are supported by ticket sales, not just festival juries." Full story.
2013 STUDY: The Status of Women in the U.S. Media
By Diana Mitsu Klos, Women's Media Center
"With females making up 51 percent of the U.S. population, there are business, societal and cultural imperatives that demand gender equality and equal participation. Diversifying the media landscape is critical to the health of our democracy." Full study (PDF).
2013 STUDY: Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers
Research by Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D., Katherine Pieper, Ph.D. and Marc Choueiti
The study, commissioned by Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles, is a first-of-its-kind research study examining gender disparity in American independent film. Full study (PDF).
2012 STUDY: The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 250 Films of 2012By Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Martha M. Lauzen, Huffington Post, 2/22/2013
"Have we ever questioned what constitutes the pipeline for women working in film? Where does it begin? Is the launch pad graduation from top film and television schools across the country? Success with independent features? Short films?" Full story.
Sundance, the Oscars and the Decline of Film Criticism—Not Just a Lady Problem
By Roya Rastegar, The Nation, 2/22/2013
"Critics almost exclusively eviscerated the feature films directed by women that premiered at Sundance this year." Full story.
Why Women in Hollywood Can't Get Film Financing
By Lauren Sandler, Bloomberg, 2/21/2013
"Director Jill Soloway says the system won’t change until complicated “women’s films” are supported by ticket sales, not just festival juries." Full story.
2013 STUDY: The Status of Women in the U.S. Media
By Diana Mitsu Klos, Women's Media Center
"With females making up 51 percent of the U.S. population, there are business, societal and cultural imperatives that demand gender equality and equal participation. Diversifying the media landscape is critical to the health of our democracy." Full study (PDF).
2013 STUDY: Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Independent Women Filmmakers
Research by Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D., Katherine Pieper, Ph.D. and Marc Choueiti
The study, commissioned by Sundance Institute and Women In Film Los Angeles, is a first-of-its-kind research study examining gender disparity in American independent film. Full study (PDF).
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"In 2012, women comprised 18% of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers. This represents no change from 2011 and an increase of 1 percentage point from 1998." Full study (PDF).
The Surge of Women at Sundance—And What it Means For Filmmaking
By Sharon Waxman, The Wrap, 1/20/2013
"Sex is always a big topic at Sundance, but this year it come from the women’s perspective. That’s because for the first time Sundance has an equal number of women as men directors in competition—eight—with more than a dozen other women directors in other sections of the festival." Full story.
Geena on Gender: Geena Davis Symposium
By Jenny Peters, Variety, 11/13/12
Geena Davis of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which the actress founded in 2004, discusses sponsoring the largest research study ever done on G-rated films and television shows made for kids 11 and under and the 3rd Annual Symposium on Gender Media. Full story.
2012 STUDY:Gender Roles and Occupations: A Look at Character Attributes & Job-Related Aspirations in Film & Television
By Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D, Marc Choueiti, Ashley Prescott, Katherine Pieper, Ph.D
This study analyzes film and television speaking role characters in family and primetime programming for gender roles, stereotypes, and the degree to which genders are represented in prestigious industries in media programming. Full study (PDF).
2012 STUDY: The Status of Women in the U.S. Media
By Robin H. Pugh Yi, Ph.D and Craig T. Dearfield, M.A., Women's Media Center
This report provides a broad overview of the status of women in U.S. media at the beginning of 2012. Full study (PDF).
DGA's Grim Stats on Director Diversity in Television: 'Our Industry Has to Do Better'
By Sophia Savage, Indiewire.com, 9/27/2012
"‘We just don’t know anybody,’ doesn’t cut it anymore—the pool of talented and experienced women and minority directors grows every year, and too many of these qualified, capable directors are still overlooked.” Full story.
2012 STUDY: Boxed-In: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes Women in the 2011-12 Prime-time Television Season
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
Last season, women accounted for 26% of creators and 25% of executive producers, new historical highs. The percentage of women writers rebounded to 30%, up from 15% in 2010-11. However, the percentages of women working as directors, editors, and directors of photography remain low. Full study (PDF).
Study: We Benefit From Seeing Strong Women on TV
By Lindsay Abrams, TheAtlantic.com, 8/31/2012
"It was the depiction of female characters, and not sexual violence per se, that appeared to influence audiences' emotional reactions and attitudes toward women. Positive female characters were in some ways able to negate the effects of degrading content." Full story.
2012 STUDY: Independent Women: Behind-the-Scenes Representation on Festival Films
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"Women are more likely to work as directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers on documentaries than on narrative features screening at high-profile film festivals in the United States...This difference is especially pronounced in the directing role...The percentage of women directing independently produced documentaries (39%) is stunning when compared to the percentage of women directing top grossing films in 2011 (5%)." Full study (PDF).
How Can Women Gain Influence in Hollywood?
The New York Times, 8/14/2012
Melissa Silverstein of Women and Hollywood helped curate this forum that includes filmmakers, academics and executives. Full story.
2011 STUDY: It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: On-Screen Representations of Female Characters in the Top 100 Films of 2011
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
The study reveals that females comprised 33% of all characters in 2011, up from 28% in 2002. However, the percentage of female protagonists decreased from 16% in 2002 to 11% in 2011. Thus, while there are more female characters on screen today, fewer stories are told from a female character's perspective. Further, female characters remain younger than their male counterparts and are more likely than males to have an identifiable marital status. The study also found that female characters are much less likely than males to be portrayed as leaders of any kind. Full study (PDF).
2011 STUDY: The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 250 Films of 2011
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"Women accounted for 5% of directors, a decrease of 2 percentage points from 2010 and approximately half the percentage of women directors working in 1998." Full study (PDF).
2011 STUDY: Boxed-In: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes and On-Screen Women in the 2010-11 Prime-time Television Season
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"Women comprised 25% of all individuals working as creators, directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and directors of photography on broadcast television programs during the 2010-11 prime-time season. This represents a decrease of 2 percentage points from last season (2009-2010) and an increase of 4 percentage points since 1997-98." Full study (PDF).
Women In, Behind, and at the Movies
By John Fithian, President, National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), Boxoffice Pro, 1/2012
Fithian questions the lack of women making movies and the need for movies about women. He says that more women-driven films would result in more tickets sold—good news for the entire industry. Full story.
2010 STUDY: The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 250 Films of 2010
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"In 2010, women comprised 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 1 percentage point from 1998 and is even with 2009 figures." Full study.
2010 STUDY: Boxed-In: Employment of Behind-the-Scenes Women in the 2009-10 Prime-time Television Season
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"The percentage of women working in powerful behind-the-scenes roles in prime-time programming airing on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC) increased 2 percent in the 2009-10 season. Overall, women comprised 27% of all creators, executive producers, producers, directors, writers, editors, and directors of photography working on situation comedies, dramas, and reality programs. This represents an increase of two percentage points from 25% in 2008-09 and an increase of six percentage points since 1997-98. It also represents a recent historical high." Full study.
In Oscar Directing Category, a Numbers Boost for Women and African Americans
By Rachel Abramowitz, latimes.com, 2/3/2010
Kathryn Bigelow sounds a wee bit tired of questions about being a "female director," but given that on Tuesday she became only the fourth woman to be nominated for best director by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, she knows it comes with the territory. "I long personally for the day when the modifier is a moot point," said a very happy Bigelow, whose film nabbed nine nominations, including one for best picture. "I anticipate that day will come, but if 'The Hurt Locker' can make the impossible seem possible to somebody, it's pretty overwhelming and gratifying. At least we're heading in the right direction." Full story.
Worst Network Pilot Season For Women?
By Nikki Finke, Deadline.com, 1/28/2010
"According to one Hollywood agency’s stats so far this year, 33 comedy pilots have been picked up by CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX. Only 3 are written by women. And 36 drama pilots have been picked up by CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox. Only 6 are written by women." Full story.
2009 STUDY: Independent Women: Behind-the-Scenes Representation on Festival Films
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"The percentage of women working as directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, and editors on domestically produced feature-length films appearing at top U.S. film festivals is substantially higher than the percentage of women working on the top 250 domestic grossing films." Full study (PDF).
2009 STUDY: The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 250 Films of 2009
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
"In 2009, women comprised 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 3 percentage points from 2001 and is even with 2008 figures." Full study (PDF).
Women in the Seats but Not Behind the Camera
By Manohla Dargis, The New York Times, 12/10/2009
In March 1993 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that hands out Oscars, decided it was a good time to celebrate women. It wasn't an original idea: 1992 had been popularly known as the year of the woman in politics, partly because of the number of new women elected to the Senate that year (4!) and the House (24!). Now the academy was joining the fun with the show "Oscar Celebrates Women and the Movies." The host, Billy Crystal, rose to the occasion with quintessential Hollywood class. "Some of the most-talked-about women's parts," he joked, bada-boom, "are Sharon Stone's in ‘Basic Instinct." Full story.
'Fuck Them': Times Critic On Hollywood, Women & Why Romantic Comedies Suck
By Irin Cameron, Jezebel, 12/14/2009
"Two major studios, Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures, didn't release a single movie directed by a female, even in a year of renewed prominence for women in film." Full story.
With Strong Female Characters, Hollywood Suffers From a Fear of Failure
By Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post, 11/25/2009
"Strong women, for now anyway, are out. Two years ago, when the Jodie Foster vigilante thriller The Brave One failed at the box office, industry blogger Nikki Finke reported that a Warner Brothers production executive announced to staffers that the studio would no longer produce movies featuring female leads." Full story.
Number of Women Working in TV Stays Steady
By Amy Kaufman, The Wrap, 9/24/2009
"The number of women working on broadcast network programs declined to 25 percent during the 2008-09 primetime season, according to a study released today by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film." Full story.
Female Directors on the Hunt for Work
By Jenny Peters, Variety, 6/11/2009
"It has been more than 35 years since Women in Film was formed, with the goal to help 'women achieve their highest potential within the global entertainment, communication and media industries.' In 1973, few females had attained the high-powered position of director in either film or television." Full story.
2007 STUDY: Thumbs Down: Representation of Women Film Critics in the Top 100 U.S. Daily Newspapers
By Martha M. Lauzen, PhD, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, SDSU
Men write the overwhelming majority of film reviews in the nation's top newspapers. Men penned 70% and women 30% of all reviews in the newspapers considered. This first-of-its-kind study examines the numbers of women and men reviewing films at the top 100 U.S. daily newspapers during dall 2007. The study found that of the newspapers featuring film reviews, 47% had no reviews written by women critics, writers or freelancers. In contrast, only 12% had no reviews written by men critics, writers or freelancers. Full study.
Hollywood's Shortage of Female Power
By Sharon Waxman, The New York Times, 4/26/2007
"While the shift in the hierarchy may just be the normal turning of Hollywood’s fickle wheel of fortune, it is still worrisome to women here who are eager for role models and a mentoring system to compete with the well-established boys’ club." Full story.
By Marjorie Rosen, Los Angeles Times, 2/19/2006
"Buzz-worthy female roles are suddenly in short supply. Chalk it up to a cultural shift, or maybe an unfair fight." Full story.
2004 STUDY: DGA Report Shows Top 40 Prime Time TV Lacks Diversity in Directing
"The Directors Guild of America recently released a report on the employment of women and minority directors by television networks on the 'top forty' prime time drama and comedy series in 2003-2004. The report shows that 86 percent of the episodes were directed by Caucasian males, and that women and minority directors continue to be missing from some of the best-known series line-ups." Full study.
Last updated: Feb. 26, 2013 