Tag Archive for 'Dr. Martha Lauzen'

Hollywood Feminist of the Day: Dr. Martha Lauzen

Published
by
Melissa Silverstein
on March 3, 2010
in Awards, Sexism, Statistics and Women Directors
. 1 Comment

I know I beat the drum consistently for Kathryn Bigelow but I want everyone to remember that if, and when she wins, the best director award at the Oscars on Sunday it will be only the beginning.   Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking things are equal just because a single woman wins the award.

There is still so much work to do to improve the situation for other female directors.

Martha Lauzen, the guru of stats from San Diego State U.  for one, won’t let that happen:

Just because you can name four or five women directors doesn’t mean no problem exists. If you don’t think there’s any problem then you’re not going to be looking for a solution. And that perpetuates the status quo.

If Kathryn Bigelow wins, media stories could talk about how everything has changed now and that women are equal. And that would be unfortunate.

We must all be vigilant.

Women Directors Face Celluloid Ceiling (AFP via Yahoo)

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Tags: Dr. Martha Lauzen, Kathryn Bigelow, Oscars

Film Gender Gap: More Stats on Women Working Behind the Scenes in Film

Published
by
Melissa Silverstein
on May 22, 2009
in Statistics
. 5 Comments

Dr. Martha Lauzen at San Diego State University has for the first time drilled deeper into women’s representation on films looking into the numbers of women production designers, production managers/production supervisors, sound designers, supervising sound editors, key grips, and gaffers

Here are the numbers for of women working on the top grossing 250 movies of 2008:

Women accounted for 25% of production managers working on the top 250 films of 2008. Eighty five percent (85%) of the films had no female production managers.

Women comprised 44% of production supervisors.  Seventy-two percent (72%) of films had no female production supervisors.

Women accounted for 20% of all production designers working on the top 250 films.  Eighty one percent (81%) of films had no female production designers.

Women comprised 5% of sound designers.  Ninety seven percent (97%) of films had no female sound designers.

Women accounted for 5% of supervising sound editors working on the top 250 films of 2008.  Ninety six percent (96%) of films had no female supervising sound editors.

Women comprised 1% of key grips.  Ninety nine percent (99%) of films had no female key grips.

Women accounted for 1% of gaffers working on the top 250 films of 2008.  Ninety nine percent (99%) of films had no female gaffers.

Sigh.  It’s amazing what statistics can show.

Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film

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Tags: Dr. Martha Lauzen, San Diego State U