Tuesday, January 04, 2022
Why Were Only 25% of Behind-the-Scenes Jobs Held by Women Last Year?
nofilmschool.com: Last year, film and TV saw historic highs for the inclusion of women working on the top-grossing films of the year, and 2021 promised to increase those numbers.
Even with Chloé Zhao becoming the second woman to win an Oscar for directing Nomadland and being the first woman of color to win the award, and Jane Campion being a front-runner for The Power of the Dog, 2021 saw a slight decline in the number of women directing films, according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film’s Celluloid Ceiling report.
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People in the entertainment industry often compare and contrast theater and film/tv, and I feel I predominantly hear more similarities. There is a concept that most of the time in behind-the-scenes work you can easily move laterally between the two fields. However, this article made me ask, is it easier for men than women? What are the differences in those hiring standards because of the contrast in demographics? I ask these questions because I was so surprised by these statistics. I have never considered this industry to be a male dominated one, and while I cannot find quantitative data to back up my reasoning (the lack of accessibility to this data to the public shows another failure of the system) I have always heard varying opinions. The idea is that designers would actually be a female dominated demographic, primarily in costume design, but this may be an illustration of generational change to more progressive societal ideals.
To see that the number of women working on top films has only increased 5 percent in 24 years is both shocking and unfortunately, unsurprising. Even with more programs and incentives designed to get women in the industry, it seems they often only target the middle, and don’t reach towards the very top or the bottom. Women who can’t afford to pursue the entertainment industry continue to have little opportunities.
Another factor to consider is the long, unforgiving hours of working in the entertainment industry. Across the country, women are still often required to be the caregiver in their families, not being given the same opportunities to pursue a career, especially one that will take up so much time, as their male counterparts. Until women are no longer expected to fulfill these obligations, and given the proper support to explore their desired career, I’m afraid that percent won’t drop too significantly.
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