by Graham Sheldon

The entertainment industry has a massive problem. Women are rarely behind the camera, and it isn’t for lack of interest or effort on their parts.

I consider myself lucky to work with women on a regular basis. For instance, I get to work with Rin Ehlers all the time. She is a talented director and camera operator. She also happens to be my wife.

Last year, Rin and I worked on a travel/sketch show which filmed all over Asia. She would operate the three-axis gimbal while I would take the handheld, or occasionally take out the drone. In each country, accomplished locals filled different roles in the production — C-cam, a grip team, and once, even a jib.

In that respect the trip to Asia was not unusual. What was unusual was the reaction of the local production teams to Rin. They were surprised — sometimes stunned — to see Rin running up the sides of mountains with a camera. They watched in awe as she pulled focus on fast moving herds of wild horses in Mongolia. Some encouraging folks expressed their amazement. Others expressed their offense. But whatever the reaction, her presence and her work were never a non-issue.

When the Asian shoot finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about those moments. I asked Rin about it and she said they didn’t really affect her. Sure, I reasoned, we were occupied overseas dealing with typical production abroad logistics, and there was a lot to keep us focused with only our core crew of two, but if people were consistently calling out how atypical I was, I would have been affected. Still, time after time I watched Rin shrug off the comments and continue to roll on another take, all while baking in the 96 degree Manila heat.

Being married to a woman who experiences isolation in her profession on a regular basis, I was “aware” of sexism, stereotypes, and discrimination in the industry to a certain extent, but the culture shock of working in other countries for an extended period of time really brought the issue front and center for me. Again, I asked my wife about it, and again, she educated me. She replied, “Look, it’s the same back home. Guys just know it’s taboo to say it.”

I started thinking about productions I’ve shot in North America, and realized just how far from progressive the industry here actually is. There are just too few women in every crew, especially in camera and director roles.

According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, women accounted for just seven percent of the top 100 grossing films of 2015.

The American Society of Cinematographers, one of the most prestigious collectives of cinematographers in the world, has permitted roughly 800 members to add ASC after their name. Of those 800, fewer than twenty have been women.

In the history of Oscar cinematography, a woman has never been nominated.

I’m hardly the first to bring up the lack of women in our industry, and as a white man I’m very aware of how much privilege I have: I’ve never had to be judged based on anything other than my work.

I want to offer fellow men in the business recommendations on how to level the playing field. Many of these tips are things that everyone on set should already understand, but I constantly see these guidelines broken. I am very conscious that my status as a white dude in Hollywood may not mean I am the right person to deliver a message like this, but I aspire to be the best ally I can be, and encourage other men in the industry to do the same.

Don’t just take it from me — listen to the many, many women speaking out on these issues. And then try to figure out how you can help make things better.

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Change your perspective. If, for whatever reason, you prefer the comfort of the men’s club model we’ve gotten ourselves into, then I would encourage you to watch the work of:

· Greta Gerwig (Writer/Director/Actor)

· Rachel Griffiths (Director/Actor)

· Maya Goded (Photographer/Filmmaker)

· Catherine Hardwicke (Director)

· Sian Heder (Director/Writer)

· Ellen Kuras (DP)

· Reed Morano (DP)

· Narges Rashidi (Director)

· Tami Reiker (DP)

· Sandy Sissel (DP)

· Mandy Walker (DP)

· Elizabeth Wood (Director)

· Jessica Yu (Director, Writer, Producer, Editor)

I’m restrained by word count here, but this should get you started. Be sure to check out The Director List, a database of over 1000 female directors. Vulture has also assembled a list of “100 Women Directors Hollywood Should Be Hiring.”

We can all learn from perspectives different from ours. Films written, directed, and/or shot by women can help us better write, shoot, and direct movies that have female-driven story lines, or simply have female characters in them.

2. HIRING: It starts with hiring and yes it has to be a conscious thought. If you have not worked with a lot of women in the camera department before now, start to seek them out. As the person in charge of hiring, you must make an effort to reach out to the very best. Look outside your immediate circle for fresh ideas.

3. CHIVALRY: There is a time and place for chivalry and a film, documentary, or television set isn’t, in my opinion, one of them. Sure, there is a line here, but understand that the woman you are working with got there because she had to work twice as hard. Don’t offer to help her carry the Alexa to the next setup. Grab the sticks and follow. If you wouldn’t ask a man if he needs help, don’t ask a woman. It’s patronizing. If a woman does ask for help, help her, and don’t make rude or sarcastic comments about her size, ability, or gender.

4. COMEDY: Because we work really long days in production, crews can feel more like families and because that’s the case, we sometimes forget to conduct ourselves professionally in our conversations. I would encourage you not to tell sexist jokes anywhere, but you should definitely not do it on set, whether a woman is in the crew or not.

5. NAMES: If you call all the men on set “Sweetie” or “Hun” or whatever, then go ahead and call everyone the same thing, but most of the women I know in production prefer to be addressed by their names.

6. BE YOURSELF: Women in film are just people in film, and they got into this business for the same reasons you did. You’ll like some women on crews and you’ll dislike some women on crews, just like you like some men on crews and dislike others. Still, in the end, there are valuable friendships to be made. While I encourage you to be respectful of your crewmates, you make a woman’s experience worse when you walk on eggshells around her. She’s not a delicate flower — she’s your colleague. Do your best to connect and collaborate. Then go out and make a great movie.