Gender inequality in Hollywood has taken center stage since the infamous American Hustle pay gap was revealed by leaked Sony emails in 2014, with celebrities from Meryl Streep to Patricia Arquette; Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, and Robin Wright; and Cate Blanchett to Shonda Rhimes (among others, of course) speaking out about the issue. During a rally in Los Angeles last night, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton — someone that, political predilections aside, knows a thing or two about working in male-dominated professions — added her support to the cause.
“We’re holding this event during the L.A. Film Festival and, in fact, this year, I’m told about half of the directors are women,” Clinton said to an audience that included actresses Elizabeth Banks, Sally Field, and Mary Steenburgen, reports The Cut. "So, we’re moving toward answering the age-old question: Are Americans ready for a woman director?”
Female directors in Hollywood are indeed few and far between. According to a report released this January by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, only 9% of directors among the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2015 were women — a mere 2% increase over the statistics for 2014 and on par with the stats from 1998.
But Clinton, for her part, chose to wax optimistic. “We are going to break the celluloid ceiling,” she pledged. “Then, starting next Tuesday, we are on our way to breaking the highest and hardest ceiling."
No more women in catsuits? We kid, we kid. And we think Meryl — and Maisie — would likely approve of the sentiment.
This summer, we're celebrating the biggest movie season of the year with a new series called Blockbust-HER. We'll be looking at everything film-related from the female perspective, interviewing major players in the industry and discussing where Hollywood is doing right by women and where (all too often) it is failing them. And now...let's go to the movies!