For the last several years Women and Hollywood has used the opportunity of Oscar week to share a video that focuses on the representation of women both in front of and behind the scenes in films.
This year, the number of women on screen has improved — women made up 29 percent of the protagonists, 37 percent of the main characters, and 32 percent of speaking characters in the top 100 grossing films of 2016. But we see very little movement on opportunities available to women behind the scenes, especially in the directing chair — over the last decade women made up just four percent of the directors of the top-grossing films. It is so bad that the government is in negotiations with the studios to once and for all dismantle the systemic discrimination that women directors face.
Zero women-directed films are up for Best Picture this year, and all of the directors in the running for Best Director are men. Are women underrepresented at the Oscars? 100 percent. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the lack of awards attention for women behind the scenes points to much bigger, wide-ranging problems in the industry.
Check out our latest Oscar video, “Hollywood (Our Work Isn’t Done),” for Women and Hollywood’s take on the situation. The Academy Awards will be televised live February 26 and we will be live tweeting @womenahollywood and @melsil. Special kudos to Jo Chiang for her writing and direction of the video.
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