Women behind the scenes in Hollywood have made little progress in 26 years

The advancement of women in behind-the-scenes roles in the film industry has been disappointing over the past quarter-century, according to a new report. report.

THE reportWritten by Martha Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, is a compilation of annual analyses of the 250 highest-grossing films from 1998 to 2023. Over the past 26 years, Lauzen has analyzed more than 82,000 film credits to determine the proportion of women in key positions in the industry. The main takeaway from the report is that progress for women behind the scenes has been incredibly slow.

The slowest progress for women is in film editing. The percentage of women working as editors on the most popular films has increased by only 1%, from 20% in 1998 to 21% in 2023. One percentage point in 26 years! Lauzen lamented in an email.

Producers, cinematographers, and screenwriters aren’t faring much better. The proportion of women working as producers has increased by just 2%, from 24% in 1998 to 26% in 2023. Female cinematographers have gained just three percentage points over the past 26 years, from 4% in 1998 to 7% in 2023. The percentage of female screenwriters has also stagnated, from 13% in 1998 to just 17% in 2023.

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These jobs remain male-dominated because most people are unaware of the gender imbalance.

When was the last time you read or saw an article about the underemployment of women working as editors or filmmakers? Lauzen asks. While women directors have understandably received a lot of attention over the past two decades, women editors, filmmakers, and others in other powerful positions have not received much attention.

We don't hear about the low number of women working as editors, cinematographers and other roles, so there's no pressure on the industry to change, she adds.

The problem is not a lack of interest or talent among women. It's not a problem with the industry. Women are well represented in film schools. It's a problem with hiring, Lauzen says.

As Lauzen points out, the media has focused heavily on increasing the number of female directors. Despite these efforts, the number of female directors has only increased by 6% over the last quarter century. The blockbuster success of Barbie in 2023 raised hopes that more stories would be told from women's perspectives. Yet some skeptics believe Barbie the impact could be limited.

Ask Hollywood and the consensus seems to be that Barbie is a singular achievement, a gargantuan feat carried by particular talents, writer-director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie. Translation: Don't expect to see many films like this in theaters anytime soon, sums up a New York Times report.

Storytelling has immense power, shaping and strengthening our culture. Female directors and screenwriters are essential because they are more likely to tell stories from a female perspective. Without their voices, these perspectives remain unheard. However, achieving gender balance in other behind-the-scenes roles is equally important. Editors and cinematographers play a vital role in bringing a director’s vision to life, and gender balance in these positions also brings a female perspective to the final product.

This report reveals how few women have been involved in these projects over the past 26 years. Long-term trends in women’s employment are often lost in year-to-year fluctuations that reveal increases of a few percentage points one year, followed by declines the next. The longer timeline highlighted in this report provides an illuminating history of the relentless underemployment of women in the mainstream film industry, she added. wrote in the report.