Study Shows Decline of Female Employment in Entertainment Industry

Will Lerner
·Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film has released a new study. The “Celluloid Ceiling” has tracked the number of women working behind the scenes for 19 years now.

Gender inequality seems to be worsening. It appears unlikely any female director will be nominated at the 2017 Academy Awards. (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Gender inequality seems to be increasing. It appears unlikely any female director will be nominated for the 2017 Academy Awards. (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

There has been more focus on inclusivity in entertainment in recent years; unfortunately, the numbers indicate progress isn’t being made. “In 2016, women comprised 17% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 domestic grossing films,” said the center’s executive director, Martha M. Lauzen. “This represents a decline of 2 percentage points from last year and is even with the percentage achieved in 1998.”

Here are some of the most notable facts and figures about 2016’s top 250 films:

  • 92% had no female directors

  • Only 2% employed 10 or more women (76% employed 10 or more men)

  • 77% had no female writers

  • The number of female executive producers declined 3%

Looking at the top 500 films shows more equality correlates to women working as directors. “Films with at least one female director employed greater percentages of women working as writers, editors, cinematographers, and composers than films with exclusively male directors,” the study included.
Were there any gains for women? Yes, but they are slim pickings.

“Women accounted for 13% of writers working on the top 250 films of 2016,” noted Lauzen. “This represents an increase of 2 percentage points from 2015. … Women accounted for 8% of supervising sound editors working on the top 250 films of 2016. This represents an increase of 3 percentage points from 2014.”

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