In one week most of the worldwide film industry will be in Cannes celebrating the “best in cinema.” There will be monumental press attention paid to these movies and these directors. While we don’t know how the movies will play, one thing we do know is that few women-helmed features will be screened. 14% of the main Competition is women and women directors make up just 22% of both Un Certain Regard and Directors’ Fortnight. Cannes just illuminates what we already know — there are not enough opportunities for women. Cannes is simply the poster child for this worldwide problem.

Over the last five years the research has been abundant and definitive. Just last week EWA released research showing that across Europe only 20% of films are directed by women. This is an international issue. The research released today written by Stephen Follows by Directors UK adds another piece to the puzzle. They commissioned a substantive, longitudinal study of 2,591 UK films released between 2005 and 2014, and found that only 13.6% of working film directors over the last decade have been women.

The UK is a country where there is funding for films with governmental resources. There is a commitment in the country to support the arts, films included. One of the ongoing conversations within our community has been that in places where women have access to tax dollars for their films, we see more films directed by women. But this research shows this not to be true. Funding to women has actually decreased over the last decade. And, even when there is funding available, the lion share of that funding does not go to women, and when women do get funded, they get less.

Here are some of the other important findings (All quoted directly from the report)

· Only 11.5% of UK films over the last decade were directed exclusively by women.

· In the last decade the number of UK films directed by a woman has increased by only 0.6%; from 11.3% in 2005 to 11.9% in 2014.

· UK films are six times more likely to be directed by a man than a woman.

· During their careers women directors tend to direct fewer films than male directors and are less likely to make a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th film.

· As budgets rise, fewer women directors are hired; 16.1% of films budgeted under £500,000 have a woman director. That figure drops to just 12.8% on a mid-budget film, and drops even further to just 3.3% of films budgeted over £30 million.

· Women directors tend to be disproportionately limited to making certain genres, usually those that are viewed as “traditionally” female.

Ali Bailey, Director of Campaigns told Women and Hollywood:

The study proves that gender bias towards women directors is present in every part of the UK film industry and confirms that discussion and debate of inequality have yet to translate into action and lasting change. We have to move past good will and rhetoric and all commit in our different capacities to taking responsibility on for the problem and its solutions. Such levels of unconscious bias leading to the discrimination and unfair treatment of women working the film industry is wholly unacceptable. Directors UK’s campaign sought to highlighted the root causes of the gender inequality in order to make practically focused recommendations that will help begin the step change so desperately needed.

The organization which will discuss this research in Cannes has put forward recommendations to make positive change:

1. 50% of films backed by UK-based public funding bodies to be directed by women by 2020
2. Development of the Film Tax Credit Relief system to require all UK films to take account of diversity and gender
3. An industry-wide campaign to inform and influence change

They also have committed to having 50/50 membership of working age directors for 2020.

What this report makes crystal clear is that women screaming in the streets is not going to make change without the systems changing. This is something that the industry needs to decide if it will do. If the industry — and I include the U.S. in this — does not believe that women should have equal opportunities to men, then they should do nothing. If they believe it is a meritocracy, then they should do nothing. If they believe that women are not as competent as men, then they should do nothing. If they believe that women’s visions are not as important than men’s, then they should do nothing.

But honestly, how in 2016 can any of the above statements be true? How can the people in charge, both men and women, look at their daughters or sisters or wives and think that they are valued any less than their sons. That their daughters who want to tell the next “Star Wars” shouldn’t have the opportunity because she was born with two X chromosomes.

This is gut check time. This has gone on too long. There has been too much research saying the same thing — that women can’t even get into the rooms. If there was a human resources department to go to women would be beating down the doors.

It’s past time for this industry to figure out how to include women at the highest levels.We can’t afford to lose another generation of women filmmakers.

Read the full report here.