The number of women in filmmaking roles has been inching up in recent years. In 2019, the industry even reached a historic high. That year, women held 20% of behind-the-scenes roles on the top domestic grossing films, a sharp uptick from 16% in 2018. Yet, it’s unclear whether this sampling of films signals real improvement in the industry as a whole.
After all, the overall percentage of women professionals in the film industry was 17% in 1998. Thus, when you look at things from a broader perspective, it’s clear that not much has changed. Women are still so far from parity that it begs the question, “What makes women different than men in the film industry?” To uncover the reason for this lack of representation, you must consider a number of different factors.
Age-Old Gender Roles
In many ways, 2013 was a banner year for women in film. Three female-led flicks landed in the top five grossing movies of the year, including “Gravity,” which won seven Oscars. Despite these successes, women still only accounted for 15% of leading roles and 30% of speaking roles that year. To make matters worse, the vast majority of these characters were often placed in positions of submission or inferiority.
These character roles play into 20th-century gender stereotypes of male leadership and female domestication. In the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, women’s films emerged in which the plot focused on love, marriage, and family, leaving women little else to talk about on-screen besides men. At that time, women accounted for 25-28% of speaking roles, so things haven’t changed much.
We tend to assume that sexism is a thing of the past, but this is a modern misperception about the extent of gender equity, which has a long way to come. Consider the current state of women in the film industry — since 2019, the percentage of female-led top grossing films has fallen from 40% to 29%, a discouraging number even factoring in the pandemic.
Morality Codes
In the early years of film, many actresses used their fame to challenge these gender norms, refusing to conform to feminine expectations on screen. However, after the Hays Code passed in 1934, there were moral guidelines for women in film. The rules forbade actresses from engaging in any suggestive nudity, scenes of childbirth, or sex hygiene. By the mid-’30s, the industry used the code to censor women’s bodies and women outside of marital bliss.
From that point on, female figures in the film were mostly portrayed as imperiled by love, sickness, or circumstance. Although the Hays Code was revoked in 1968, many of its standards still play out in the movie industry today. Because men still outnumber women producers and filmmakers and they’re generally uncomfortable rewriting the script, women will continue to play more minor roles and fill age-old gender stereotypes.
The Wage Gap
Before 1927, there was no set hierarchy within the film industry. For a woman to move from secretary to producer was a lateral move and likely paid a similar wage. However, once the industry unionized and specified which positions were more important, women all but disappeared from behind-the-scenes roles.
They also began making significantly smaller salaries than men. Even today, top female actors make 38% as much as the top male actors in Hollywood. This comparison doesn’t even account for awards like Oscars — which are disproportionately given to men — and how they tend to attract larger theater audiences and higher revenue.
A Vicious Cycle
Women dominated the film industry between 1917 and 1923, but many of them have been written out of history in favor of male directors. Thus, today’s aspiring filmmakers and actors have few female role models to look up to. The widespread underrepresentation makes for a vicious cycle and a general lack of empowerment among women both within and without the film industry.
Because we gravitate towards those who resemble us, men also tend to hire men. This cycle trend alone can explain why and how women are treated differently in the film industry. The majority of directors are male, so they give more opportunities to male producers, actors, and screenwriters. Of course, their habits only exacerbate the cycle of underrepresentation.
Rewriting History
What makes a woman director, actress, or producer different than a man? Only the amount of opportunities they’re given to succeed. Women are just as capable, creative, and powerful as men, regardless of their line of work. They deserve equal rights, pay, representation, and opportunities.
You can do your part by educating yourself and others and supporting movies with female leads, producers, directors, and filmmakers. As a member of the audience, you have an important role to play in their success — and the success of women everywhere.
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Ginger Abbot is a freelance writer and graduate student with a passion for helping others find their career paths. Read more of her work on Classrooms, where she serves as Managing Editor.
