Jobs for Female and Minority Directors Have Not Increased in the Last Decade
USC has revealed a new study in which it reveals only 4% of all directors across the 1,000 top grossing films of the past decade were female, making up a ratio of 24 males to every female behind the camera. Only three films were directed by black women, three by Asian women, and only one by a Latina. This comes despite the industry's various diversity programs.
The report indicates that "there has been no change" in the percentage in the past ten years, from 2007 to 2016, and minority female directors remain the industry's most underemployed professionals, reports Deadline.
“For the last decade, female directors of color have been nearly invisible in the director’s chair,” said report co-author Stacy L. Smith, a USC professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and director of its Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative. “The data speak loud and clear. When Hollywood thinks female director, they think ‘white woman.’ When only seven directing opportunities across 1,000 go to women of color, hiring practices need to change. These findings also show researchers cannot simply report on gender any longer. The experiences of white women differ dramatically from women of color.”
“Male directors work on top-grossing films throughout their adult lives – from their 20s to their 80s,” the report said. “Females, in contrast, work across just four decades – their 30s to their 60s.” Warner Bros. had the most female directors across the board, with ten from a total of 174 films.
“While women have allies in the entertainment industry,” the report states, “they still rarely work behind the camera.” Smith said that "Our research consistently shows that behind the camera, directing is predominantly an occupation held by white males. When the lens is this skewed, it offers a tilted view of society to audiences – one that lacks the perspective of women and people of color.”
To read more on the report, go to Deadline.com
