Women's Employment in Film & Television

Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film

http://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/

Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., a professor at San Diego State University, has established the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film which does annual studies on women's employment in film and televison. We have provided links to some of her studies below. Links to all of the center's research studies are available at:
http://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/research.html

The Celluloid Ceiling
The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind the Scenes and On-Screen Employment of Women in the Top 250 Films of 2008.
By Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., San Diego State University

In 2008, women comprised 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 3 percentage points from 2001 and an increase of 1 percentage point from 2007.

Women accounted for 9% of directors in 2008, an increase 3 percentage points from 2007. This figure represents no change from the percentage of women directing in 1998.

Boxed In

Boxed In: Women On Screen and Behind the Scenes in the 2008-2009 Prime-time Season
By Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., San Diego State University 

The percentage of women working in powerful behind-the-scenes roles in prime-time programming airing on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC) remained relatively stable in the 2008-09 season when compared with prior seasons. Overall, women comprised 25% of all creators, executive producers, producers, directors, writers, editors, and directors of photography working on situation comedies, dramas, and reality programs.

Women writers and directors of photography experienced substantial increases this year. The percentage of women writers increased from 23% in the 2007-08 season to 29% in 2008-09. The percentage of women directors of photography increased from a meager 1% in 2007-08 to 4% in 2008-09.

Women At the Box Office (Ticket Sales of Films By & About Women)

Women At the Box Office
By Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., San Diego State University

This study examines the belief that films made by women or featuring female protagonists earn less at the box office than those made by men or featuring males. The major findings of the study include the following:

• When women and men filmmakers have similar budgets for their films, the resulting domestic, international, and opening weekend box office grosses - as well as DVD sales - are also similar. The sex of filmmakers does not determine box office grosses.
• When the size of the budget is held constant, films with female protagonists or prominent females in an ensemble cast generate similar box office grosses (domestic, international, opening weekend) and DVD sales as films with male protagonists. Films with larger budgets earn larger grosses, regardless of the sex of the protagonist. 

The Representation of Women Film Critics in the Top 100 U.S. Daily Newspapers

Thumbs Down Report

By Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., San Diego State University

Men write the overwhelming majority of film reviews in the nation’s top newspapers. In Fall 2007, men penned 70% and women 30% of all reviews. Furthermore, of the newspapers featuring film reviews, 47% had no reviews written by women critics, writers or freelancers. In contrast, only 12% had no reviews written by men critics, writers or freelancers. In addition, men wrote significantly more reviews than women. Men wrote an average of 14 film reviews whereas women wrote an average of 9 film reviews during the study period.

The findings of this report suggest that film criticism in this country's newspapers is largely a male enterprise, echoing the predominance of men working on screen and behind the scenes in the film industry. In short, men dominate the reviewing process of films primarily made by men featuring mostly males intended for a largely male audience. The under-employment of women film reviewers, actors, and filmmakers perpetuates the nearly seamless dialogue among men in U.S. cinema.

New York Women in Film and Television articles

www.nywift.org/article.aspx?id=60
The "Status of Women in the Industry" section of the site includes an excellent assortment of studies and articles.

Girls, Women + Media Project

www.mediaandwomen.org

Activist site with summaries of studies of bias in news media and coverage of women's sports, as well as studies of imagery of women in film and television.

Geena Davis Institute on Gender & Media

http://www.thegeenadavisinstitute.org/research.php

The Institute’s work is based on the largest research project ever undertaken on gender in children's entertainment. Dr. Stacy Smith and her team at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication carried out 4 downloadable studies, including one on children's television and three on film

Find information about the other arts on http://www.womenarts.org/employment.htm.