THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE U.S MEDIA 2015

“The results from this study demonstrate that female directors set out on a course that confirms
and triggers a stereotype that may affect the deals they make and the opportunities
they are offered,” researchers wrote. “As such, the choices female directors make early in
their careers can have lasting financial consequences.”
Additionally, this study’s analysis of the 1,300 top grossing films during the same 12-year period
found, overall, that male directors outnumbered female directors 23 to 1. And during a single
year—2014—1.9 percent of directors of the top 100 films had female directors.
Pat Mitchell, co-chair of the Women’s Media Center Board and chair of the Sundance Institute’s
Board, has a personal perspective on the research and its impact. “Someone said
recently that just the act of a woman making a film is revolutionary… requiring courage and
fearlessness.”
“As this research makes clear, the barriers for women across the media landscape … writers,
producers, directors, digital entrepreneurs … still exist at every point on the journey from
idea to screen. The numbers show how the choice to pursue a career as a director requires
deep commitment and
THE GENDERED MARKETPLACE
DR. STACY L. SMITH, DR. KATHERINE PIEPER, & MARC CHOUEITI
MEDIA, DIVERSITY, & SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE
@MDSCInitiative
FEMALE DIRECTORS DEAL WITH DISTRIBUTION DISPARITIES
DISTRIBUTION RATE,
in percentages
100%
80
60
40
20
0
MALES
FEMALES
STUDY FUNDED BY WOMEN IN FILM LOS ANGELES, SUNDANCE INSTITUTE.
© 2015 DR. STACY L. SMITH | GRAPHICS: PATRICIA LAPADULA
DIRECTOR GENDER BY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY,
in percentages
75%
50
25
0
INDEPENDENT
COMPANIES
MALES
FEMALES
STUDIO SPECIALTY/
MINI MAJOR
COMPANIES
resilience. This research
confirms that the power
dynamic that controls
the financing and distribution
of films is still in
place and, to a large extent,
still excluding women.
But the Sundance
film festival is committed
to exhibiting the work
of women directors, and
the presence of so many
films directed by women
and women’s stories on
film is making a difference
in the festival experience.
Broadening the
mandate to include more
women in key roles, behind
and in front of the
camera, is the mission
of the Women’s Media
Center, whose programs
are raising awareness of
the importance of more
women’s stories and
women’s voices across
all media. Hopefully all
these efforts and the
collaborations that are
producing this research
will see the numbers increase,
the hurdles diminish
and the changes
will be seen in more ways
than just more numbers.”
52
WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER
The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 TOC womensmediacenter.com