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Advocacy - Women's Employment
in Film
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
The
Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in the Top 250
Films of 2003
Martha
M. Lauzen, Ph.D., School of Communication
San Diego State University, San Diego,
CA 92182
Phone: 619.594.6301
Copyright
© 2004 -- All rights reserved.
In 2003, women comprised only 17% of individuals working in key behind-the-scenes
roles on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This is the same percentage
of women who worked on the top films of 1998.
Approximately one out of five films released in 2003 employed no
women directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers,
or editors. Men directed more than 9 out of 10 films.
The following summary provides employment figures for behind-the-scenes
women working on the top 250 domestic grossing films of 2003. It also
provides a historical perspective on the employment of behind-the-scenes
women, comparing 2003 figures with those from the last 17 years.
Findings
- This
study analyzed behind-the-scenes employment of 2,359 individuals working
on 209 of the top 250 domestic grossing films (41 foreign films omitted)
of 2003 with combined domestic box office grosses of approximately $8.8
billion.
- Women
comprised 17% of all executive producers, producers, directors, writers,
cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 grossing films
of 2003. This represents no change from 2002.
- Women
accounted for 15% of all executive producers, producers, directors,
writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 100 grossing
films of 2003. This represents a decline of one percentage point from
2002.
- Twenty
one percent (21%) of the films released in 2003 employed no women directors,
executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, or editors.
- A historical
comparison of women's employment on the top 250 films in 2003 and 1998
reveals that the percentages of women executive producers, directors,
editors, and cinematographers have declined, the percentage of women
writers has remained stable, and the percentage of women producers has
increased slightly.
- Women
comprised 14% of all executive producers working on the top 250 films
and 14% of executive producers working on the top 100 films of 2003.
Seventy two percent (72%) of the top 250 films and 3% of the top 100
films had no female executive producers.
- Women
accounted for 25% of all producers working on the top 250 films and
23% of those working on the top 100 films of 2003. Thirty seven percent
(37%) of the top 250 films and 36% of the top 100 films had no female
producers.
- Women
comprised 6% of all directors working on the top 250 films and 4% of
directors working on the top 100 films of 2003. Ninety three percent
(93%) of the top 250 films and 96% of the top 100 films had no female
directors.
- Women
accounted for 13% of writers working on the top 250 films and 11% of
writers working on the top 100 films of 2003. Eighty two percent (82%)
of the top 250 films and 83% of the top 100 films had no female writers.
- Women
accounted for 15% of all editors working on the top 250 films and 13%
of editors working on the top 100 films of 2003. Eighty three percent
(83%) of the top 250 films and 85% of the top 100 films had no female
editors.
- Women
comprised 2% of all cinematographers working on the top 250 and 1% of
cinematographers working on the top 100 films of 2003. Ninety eight
percent (98%) of the top 250 films and 99% of the top 100 films had
no female cinematographers.
- On films
with male executive producers only, women comprised 15% of those working
in other behind-the-scenes roles considered in this study. On films
with at least one female executive producer, women comprised 22% of
those working in other behind-the-scenes roles.
- By genre,
women were most likely to work on documentaries and romantic comedies
and least likely to work on horror and sci-fi features. Women comprised
29% of individuals working on documentaries, followed by 26% on romantic
comedies, 24% on fantasy features, 19% on animated features and dramas,
16% on comedies and action adventure features, 10% on sci-fi features,
and 8% on horror features.
Figure
1.
Comparison
of Percentage of Women Employed in Top 100 and Top 250 Films of 2003
Figure
2.
Historical
Comparison of Percentage of Women Employed Behind the Scenes on Top 250
Films
Figure
3.
Historical
Comparison of Percentage of Women Employed Behind the Scenes on Top 100
Films
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