Study Confirms Male Directors Dominate In Hollywood

Women In Film and the Sundance Institute just finished a three-year study confirming something we already largely know: Male directors outnumber their female colleagues in Hollywood. Researchers found that of the top 1,300 top-grossing films since 2002, there was one female-directed production per every 23 directed by a man. The study also showed that as women ascend the movie distribution ladder — from independent film festivals to box-office blockbusters — the gender gap widens. At Sundance, the male-to-female director ratio is 6-to-1. But, the more theaters a film appears in, the more the chasm grows — films showing on more than 250 screens break down to 23-to-1. One reason that men are nabbing the blockbusters and making more movies? People tend to think of the job of a director or a potentially profitable film in masculine terms, the study offers. Gender stereotyping also plays a major role. "We now know that female directors face deep-rooted presumptions from the film industry about their creative qualifications, sensibilities, tendencies, and ambitions," said Cathy Schulman, the president of Women In Film Los Angeles. We're all about documenting the facts behind gender inequality in Hollywood — shining a light on that in an effort to fix it is always a good thing. This particular study doesn't offer any new revelations though, apart from concrete figures: It's the same old disappointing stuff. "To journey from gender inequality to parity, decision-makers and advocates must work to alter their perceptions about what women can and want to do in their careers," it concludes. Change the way you think and reconsider what women can and desire to do is good advice — but how much longer will women have to wait?