Can you believe that women are still underrepresented in the film and TV industries? Well, I suppose I can believe it – but I wish I didn’t have to.
But unfortunately, we have solid proof of this sad truth, thanks to a recent report from the Women’s Media Center, which was founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem. The report summarized research conducted at USC and San Diego State, among others, and declared that “the American media have exceedingly more distance to travel on the road to gender-blind parity.”
Here are some scary stats to wrap your head around:
- Women represented only 28.8 percent of speaking characters in the top-grossing films in 2012
- Only six percent of those top 100 films in 2012 hired a balanced cast of women and men
- Women accounted for a mere 16 percent of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors, in terms of the 250 top US films in 2013
- And looking at a two-month snapshot in 2013, men wrote 82 percent of all film reviews
The Center’s President Julie Burton has some strong feelings about this.
“The media is failing women across the board,” she says.
And I couldn’t agree more. That’s precisely why I am a film producer myself – why I am taking charge and telling stories of strong women – why I am trying to blaze the trail for more women like me to step up into the spotlight (in front of or behind the camera) and help change these statistics.
So c’mon all you Tough Cookies out there! Let’s get to it! By the time the next report comes out, I want to see these numbers significantly improved.
You hear that, (film & TV) world? We’re coming for you!
Source: Hollywood Reporter
