Women are involved in the film industry in all roles, including as film directors, actresses, cinematographers, film producers, film critics, and other film industry professions, though women have been underrepresented in creative positions.
Most English-language academic study and media coverage focus on the issue in the US film industry (Hollywood), although inequalities also exist in other countries. This underrepresentation has been called the "celluloid ceiling", a variant on the employment discrimination term "glass ceiling."
Women have always had a presence in film acting, but have consistently been underrepresented, and on average significantly less well paid. On the other hand, many key roles in filmmaking were for many decades done almost entirely by men, such as directors and cinematographers. For instance, the title of 'auteur' is typically administered to men, even with women auteurs persevering and growing beside them.Name= Loayza, Beatrice In more recent times, women have made inroads and made contributions to many of these fields.
Pay and representation The 2013 Celluloid Ceiling Report conducted by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University collected statistics from 2,813 individuals employed by the 250 top domestic grossing films of 2012. According to the report, women accounted for:
18% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors. This reflected no change from 2011 and only a 1% increase from 1998. 9% of all directors. 15% of writers. 25% of all producers. 20% of all editors. 2% of all cinematographers. 38% of films employed 0 or 1 woman in the roles considered, 23% employed 2 women, 28% employed 3 to 5 women, and 10% employed 6 to 9 women.
A New York Times article stated that only 15% of the top films in 2013 had women for a lead acting role. The author of the study noted that, "The percentage of female speaking roles has not increased much since the 1940s, when they hovered around 25 percent to 28 percent." "Since 1998, women's representation in behind-the-scenes roles other than directing has gone up just 1 percent." Women "...directed the same percent of the 250 top-grossing films in 2012 (9 percent) as they did in 1998."
In 2015, Forbes reported that "...just 21 of the 100 top-grossing films of 2014 featured a female lead or co-lead, while only 28.1% of characters in 100 top-grossing films were female... This means it's much rarer for women to get the sort of blockbuster role which would warrant the massive backend deals many male counterparts demand (Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible or Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man, for example)". In the U.S., there is an "industry-wide [gap] in salaries of all scales. On average, white women get paid 78 cents to every dollar a white man makes, while Hispanic women earn 56 cents to a white male's dollar, Black women 64 cents and Native American women just 59 cents to that." Forbes analysis of US acting salaries in 2013 determined that the "...men on Forbes’ list of top-paid actors for that year made 2½ times as much money as the top-paid actresses. That means that Hollywood's best-compensated actresses made just 40 cents for every dollar that the best-compensated men made." Studies have shown that "...age and gender discrimination [together] can yield an even more significant wage gap." Young women actresses tend to make more than young male actors. However, "older [male] actors make more than their female equals" in age, with "female movie stars mak[ing] the most money on average per film at age 34, while male stars earn the most at 51."
According to actress Jennifer Lawrence, "...women negotiating for higher pay worry about seeming 'difficult' or 'spoiled.
In the 2019 update, the center for the Study of Women in Television and Film has been studying women's employment with the top-grossing films and TV for over 20 years. The 2018 study reported women make up (from the top 250 films):
8% of directors 16% of writers 4% of cinematographers 26% of producers 21% of executive producers 21% of editors.
According to the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, male characters continued to control the big screen in 2018. about 35% of films contained 10 or more female characters in dialogue roles about 82% had 10 or more male characters in speaking roles.
It has only increase 1 percentage point from 34% since 2017. The percentage of highest-grossing films featuring female protagonists increased to 31% in 2018 but before it was 37% in 2017. This shows how it has decreases and how women in media are being seen less.
Black females increased from 16% in 2017 to 21% in 2018 Latinas decreased from 7% in 2017 to 4% in 2018 Asian females increased from 7% in 2017 to 10% in 2018.
At the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, 82 women stood up for gender inequality within the festival. They all gathered on the steps during the premiere of a film called Girls of the Sun, directed by Eva Husson, who was one of the few female directors nominated for "Palme d'Or" award. There were specifically 82 women, because that is the amount of female directors who have been nominated for awards at Cannes over the years, compared to 1,645 male directors nominated films. As of 2020, there are no dedicated gender studies that prove inequality in participation in film between women and men; public knowledge is reliant on the numbers and testimonies provided by those on the inside.
Female Characters in Early Cinema Female characters in early cinema reflected the gender norms of their era, and the evolution of these roles demonstrated how society expected women to present themselves. Early film companies drew from popular literature and cultural ideals that portrayed women as pure, domestic, and within the traditional "proper bounds" of femininity.
One of the most common early character types was the damsel in distress, whose primary purpose was to be rescued by a heroic man. This archetype is very similar to the ingenue, who is defined by Dictionary.com as a girl who is young, innocent, and inexperienced. This portrayal of women is a direct reflection of contemporary beliefs that women were incapable of helping themselves, and her identity was centered around romance, innocence, and moral virtue. Early films used these archetypes to reinforce sexist expectations of female behavior.
By the 1920s, new societal attitudes regarding women's sexuality brought the rise of the flapper, a modern and fashionable character popularized by actresses such as Colleen Moore. On screen, flappers were carefree, adventurous, and expressive of their sexuality in ways earlier characters were not. Their fashion taste and carefree manner were considered provocative for the time. as the flapper was adventurous, playful, and often seen in attire such as V-necks, and long and loose dresses that cut off above their knees. This character ranged from spirited and humorous to overtly bold, giving audiences an image of a young woman who was independent, socially active, and less tied to domestic expectations.
Silent cinema also developed the vamp, who was known for seduction, manipulation, and deceit. This trope is often associated with actresses like Theda Bara, who used beauty and charm to lure men into dangerous or compromising situations. Britannica describes this character as "a seductive and beautiful woman who brings disaster to anyone with whom she becomes romantically involved." Although the archetype is sometimes viewed as degrading, it also is a complete contrast from earlier portrayals of women, who were helpless and dependent. Instead, the vamp represented a character who exercised control, strategy, and agency, even when framed as villainous.
Another influential figure of the period was the heroine''', especially in performances by Mary Pickford, who was arguably the most famous actress of this era. The American Psychology Association describes the heroine as having endurance, courage, perseverance, and the choice to solve societal problems with moral action. These powerful female characters balanced innocence with capability, presenting a character who was admired without being transgressive. This type of role created a middle ground between the ingénue and the vamp and helped shape early Hollywood's lasting image of a strong yet virtuous female lead.
Women's cinema
Women's cinema refers to films by film directors and, to a lesser degree, the work of other women behind the camera such as cinematographers and screenwriters.Mayne, Judith. The Woman at the Keyhole: Feminism and Women's Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990, p. 2, . Although the work of women film editors, costume designers, and production designers is usually not considered to be decisive enough to justify the term "women's cinema", it does have a large influence on the visual impression of any movie. Some of the most distinguished women directors have tried to avoid the association with women's cinema in the fear of marginalization and ideological controversy.Butler, Alison. Women's Cinema: The Contested Screen. London: Wallflower, 2002, p. 2, .
Alice Guy-Blaché made the first narrative film La Fée aux Choux in 1896. In Sweden, Ebba Lindkvist debuted as a film maker in 1910, and the following year Anna Hofman-Uddgren debuted when she produced the silent film Stockholmsfrestelser in 1911. Lois Weber was a successful film director of the silent era. Women screenwriters included Frances Marion, Anita Loos and June Mathis. In the 1920s, large banks assumed control of Hollywood production companies. Dorothy Arzner was the only woman filmmaker in this era. Germaine Dulac was a leading member of the French avant-garde film movement after World War I and Maya Deren did experimental cinema.
Shirley Clarke was an independent American filmmaker in the 1950s. The National Film Board of Canada allowed many women to produce non-commercial films. Joyce Wieland was a Canadian experimental film maker. Early feminist films often focused on personal experiences. Wanda (1970) by Barbara Loden is a portrait of alienation. Resisting the oppression of female sexuality was one of the core goals of second wave feminism. Women's films explored female sexuality, including the films of Birgit Hein, Nelly Kaplan, Catherine Breillat, Celine Sciamma, Barbara Hammer. Women film directors also documented the participation of women in anti-imperialist movements.
Director Kathryn Bigelow works in male-dominated genres like science fiction, action, and horror. She became the first woman to win both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Directors Guild of America Award in 2010 for The Hurt Locker. Catherine Hardwicke's films have grossed a cumulative total of $551.8 million. Her most successful films are Twilight (2008) and Red Riding Hood (2011).
Nancy Meyers has had success with her five features: The Parent Trap (1998), What Women Want (2000), Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Holiday (2006) and It's Complicated (2009) which have amassed $1,157.2 million worldwide. Before she started her directorial career she wrote some other successful films like Private Benjamin (1980) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Baby Boom (1987) or Father of the Bride (1991).
Sofia Coppola is a critically acclaimed director who has also had financial success. Her award-winning film Lost in Translation (2003) grossed over $119 million.
Julie Taymor's film Frida about revered Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was nominated for six Academy Awards, and her "1960s Beatles jukebox musical" Across the Universe won approval from both Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney. These films developed her reputation for respectful handling of the sensitive legacy of artists amongst their fans.