The Gender Gap In Hollywood Is More Than Just Wage Disparity
By:
Jennifer Lawrence publicly addressed Hollywood’s pay gap, and Ashley Judd broke her silence about sexual harassment she endured while trying to solidify her career in the business. Now, a Tumblr account called “Too many guys, one girl” is wordlessly illustrating the gaping disparity between men and women across multiple professional fields, including the film industry.
RELATED: Why The "Wage Gap Myth" Is Not Really a Myth
The Tumblr posts group photos accepting awards in which all the members are male but one.
The pictures are of multiple award shows that span various creative disciplines, and the lack of women—and women of color—is frightening.
Tumblr - tumblr.com
The disparity isn’t imagined, either. Variety references a new study from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University that specifically underlines how the film industry is sexist.
RELATED: Viola Davis' Remarks About Diversity in Hollywood are Worth Your Applause
The study shows that in 2014, 92 percent of films had no female cinematographers and 85 percent of movies had no female director.
Lionsgate Publicity - lionsgatepublicity.com
And it’s not for lack of talent, either. Do you like watching "Orange is the New Black" or "House of Cards" on Netflix? Jodie Foster has directed episodes of both of those shows.
YouTube - youtube.com
How about "The Hurt Locker"? Kathryn Bigelow directed that film, and in 2010, became the first woman to win an Oscar for best directing—ever.
Vulture writer Kyle Buchanan specifically wrote that there are an abundance of female directors available and willing to work, if only they were offered the positions. That's often the biggest hurdle.
RELATED: Sarah Silverman's Personal Story About the Wage Gap is Pretty Damn Powerful
Buchanan noted that studios, including 20th Century Fox, Sony, Paramount, and the Weinstein Company, shut out female directors. He wrote:
“None of [these studios] put out even a single film this year that was directed by a woman.”
He argues that a lack of accountability is an issue, and that these studios should be put in the hot seat.
The 'Too many guys' Tumblr is putting multiple creative industries in the hot seat. The Tumblr shows agencies like DLKW Lowe hiring all male teams for their company. Other photos show companies and teams accepting prestigious awards at the Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity. Their teams are comprised almost entirely of men.
Tumblr - tumblr.com
It's known that women struggle to gain footing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, but the reality is that they often can't gain traction in creative fields, either.
Smashing Magazine reports that according to a 2009 poll created by and for Web designers called the Findings From a List Apart, 82.6 percent of Web designers who responded were male. Smashing Magazine went on to say that of those respondents, 66.5 percent said there "wasn't a gender bias" in the field.
Sarah Parmenter, a user interface designer and owner of You Know Who design wrote an entire article discussing the gender gap in creative industries, noting that "the gender divide is a reality in the design world."
RELATED: Women Won't See Equal Pay For Another 43 Years
If no one speaks up about problems in any industry, they can't call for change, Buchanan explained to KPCC's the Frame.
“I don’t think anybody is really calling them out. It’s one of the last things people will notice, but I think one of the first things people ought to be talking about. [The companies] think it’s business as usual…and as long as people think that, they will keep doing that.”
The host of the Frame points out that three films directed by women will be released later this month, to which Buchanan had a response.
“I think if you look at a lot of the filmmakers that we have on this list, most of them are independent filmmakers. They’re women who have to find their financing wherever they can get it. They’re not women who the studio system is snapping up and nurturing, and I think that’s the real injustice.”
