Gender Inequality in the Film Industry
Although women actors and film writers have made some progress in the culture industry, gender inequality remains a problem. In the key behind-the-scenes roles of director and film writer, men continue to dominate.
Future research could consider analyzing the network structure of festival communities by targeting festivals with high betweenness centrality (broker festivals). These festivals could possibly diffuse equality practices by screening films with mixed and women-only core creative teams.
Pay gap
The pay gap in the film industry is well-documented, and it’s still an issue that needs to be addressed. Many women are paid less than their male co-stars for doing the same job. It’s important to understand why this is happening so that we can work towards equality.
One of the main reasons is that contracts are negotiated actor by actor and movie by movie. This allows stars to make more money than other actors for doing the same role. This is why Meryl Streep and Gwyneth Paltrow are calling for equal pay for equal work.
Another reason is that women are less likely to get hired for positions in key departments. For example, fewer women are employed in costume design and music than men. This is because these are traditionally seen as feminine jobs. However, these stereotypes are starting to change. This is good news for women, but we have a long way to go.
Pre-financing
Getting a film off the ground starts with the pre-financing process. Aspiring filmmakers can sell an option on a script or a treatment to a financier who then makes a commitment to finance the project. Women are significantly less likely to have access to this opportunity. When they do, their deals are typically shorter than men’s and they receive lower amounts of money.
Women are also under-represented in the film industry’s production stages. A study by Stephen Follows found that male-led movies have a larger percentage of the crew than female-led films. This is especially true for directors and screenwriters.
This imbalance is due to an old boys’ club mentality that skews the hiring and promotion process. It’s an inequality that continues to this day. Women are underrepresented in all aspects of the film industry, from writing to directing. This is an injustice that must be addressed, and it begins with education.
Casting
Hollywood’s glitz and glamour can mask severe gender inequality. In fact, a study by Northwestern University researchers revealed that women’s representation in film roles hit an all-time low during the Golden Age of moviemaking and has barely recovered since then. The study used data from a database of movies that spans over 100 years.
The research team analyzed thousands of movies for their gender ratios in the roles of actors, directors, and writers. They also looked at the genres of the films. While some genres, such as Western movies, have a gender-balanced ratio, others have very different proportions.
The findings showed that the gender gap grew for female screenwriters over their careers. This was unlike the case of male screenwriters, where the gap appeared early in their career and stayed the same throughout their careers. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown. Nevertheless, this gap must be eliminated in order to ensure equal opportunities for everyone on set.
Production
Gender inequality in the film industry is a widespread issue that affects people of all genders. Various social movements have been created in an attempt to highlight this issue and to work towards making changes within the industry. One example is the 50/50 by 2020 initiative. This initiative provides financial production incentives to production companies that produce movies that are gender-balanced.
A recent study by Stephen Follows revealed that only 22% of the crew members working on 2,000 blockbuster films were women. This is a shocking statistic that demonstrates that gender inequality is still deeply entrenched in the industry.
Research shows that the producer exerts a great deal of influence on gender ratios in core creative teams and on the visibility and representation of female directors on screen (Loist and Prommer 2019; Coles and Verhoeven 2021). It is therefore important for producers to set a positive example by hiring more women. This would help to break the vicious circle of low production rates and low funding, which in turn lead to fewer movies being made by women.