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Caroline Edwards
Ms. PB
Senior Exhibition: Period 5
29 May 2015
The Limited Role for Women in the Film Industry
Essential Question: What factors contribute most significantly to the lack of
representation of women in Hollywood?
The film industry has allowed its audiences to live vicariously through the
pleasures and pains of its characters. Audiences relate to characters, whether its Charlie
from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise, or
Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffanys. By watching films, audiences reflect on
society, as films reflect certain commonly held attitudes and beliefs about what it means
to be American, but they also portray contemporary trends, issues, and events (Schmitz).
Films are predominantly fictional stories that entertain, but currently, movies reflect that
women are underrepresented in the world, although they account for 51 percent of the
population (Pay Equity & Discrimination). When women are underrepresented in film
and their stories arent told, women receive the message that they dont matter in society
and that their stories are less valid (Silverstein). Achieving equitable representation of
women in Hollywood is dependent upon womens opportunities to work in principle
behind the scenes positions on top-grossing films, play leading roles, and earn equal pay.

The underrepresentation of women in Hollywood is reflective of the fact that

women were written out of film history (Bartyzel). There have been great women in

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film history who have been forgotten, such as Alice Guy, Marion Wong, and Lois Weber
these names are not familiar, yet Thomas Edison, Lumiere Brothers, and Edwin S.
Porter remain household names (Lindsay). According to Monika Bartyzel, the case of
forgetting and writing women out of history is a trend that continues in the film industry
today (Bartyzel). Bartyzel claims, [Hollywood] has perpetrated the idea that cinematic
history is male and that the solo filmmakers of note are all men (Bartyzel). The
misconception that cinematic history was a male-dominated industry perpetuates a boys
club attitude in Hollywood (Bahadur). While men were influential during the late 1800s
when the film industry began, women were equally, if not more, involved in the process.
Although women in the early film industry are often forgotten, Jane Gaines, a
graduate film student at Columbia University, claims that women were more powerful in
film than any other American business (Ashe). While women in Hollywood are currently
paid less than their male counterparts, in 1917 Lois Weber was Universal Studios highest
paid director (for either gender). Additionally, percentage-wise, more women worked as
screenwriters in the silent era than in modern-day Hollywood (Ashe). During the silent
film era, women were involved in nearly every aspect of production (Moving Image
Section), though this was written out of film history (Bartyzel).
While Hollywood is currently gender-biased, Beulah Marie Dix, an American
screenwriter for silent films, described the early film industry as informal. Dix wrote
more than 55 films between 1917 and 1942, and when asked about the early film industry
she claimed:
It was all very informal, in those early days. There were no unions.
Anybody on the set did anything he or she was called upon to do. I've

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walked on as an extra, I've tended lights (I've never shifted scenery) and
anybody not doing anything else wrote down the director's notes on the
script. In such a relatively egalitarian atmosphere women seemed destined
to become equal partners with men in this new industry. (Moving Image
Section)
Women were instrumental to the early film industry, and were more than equal
partners. Although more women than men owned independent production companies in
1923 and were once treated as equals during the beginning of the industry, men took
control during the late 1920s, minimizing womens roles and perspectives (Moving
Image Section).
Beginning in 1927 during Hollywoods Golden Age, womens voices were
silenced and the number of female roles decreased. Karen Mahar, a Siena College history
professor and author of Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood claims, The culture of
film was very open. It looked like a modern industry that was going to be 50-50
(Keegan). This changed once Hollywood became a popular industry during the late
1920s, and banks that financed movies didn't want to put increasingly large budgets and
crews in female hands (Keegan). Mahar explains the historic sexism by stating:
If you're going to risk millions of dollars, you're going to put a man in
charge of that. Risk is considered a masculine activity. There were also
worries about, 'Oh, women filmmakers, they're not going to be tough
enough. Can a woman control that many people? (Keegan)
Once the film industry became popular, larger roles in film production were given to
men, reflecting the United States current gender roles. These gender roles perpetuated

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the idea that women cannot be strong, but rather they are delicate and cannot handle large
film crews. Beginning in the late 1920s, women were not as involved in the film industry,
which resulted in the limited number of women who worked in the film industry.
According to the Directors Guild of America, between 1941 and 1980, less than half of
1% of film and television directing work went to women (Keegan). Although women
played significant roles during the establishment of the film industry, their representation
decreased exponentially as Hollywood presented women with fewer opportunities.
Hollywood seems progressive from the medias standpoint, but it in reality
remains sexist toward women working in behind the scenes positions. Since World War II
there has been no improvement for women in the film industry, and since 1998 there has
been no increase of women working in principle positions behind the scenes (Gender in
Media). Principle positions refer to women working as directors, writers, editors,
cinematographers, producers, and executive producers (Gender in Media). Women
account for 51% of the worlds population; however, only 9% of jobs in Hollywood go to
women (Weisman). Although Hollywood women, such as actresses, are evident in the
media, although underrepresented, women working on film crews are not often
recognized, due to the lack of representation of women behind the scenes. The New York
Film Academys study of the top 500 films from 2007-2012 found that only 10% of the
films had 6-9 women in positions of directors, producers, editors, and cinematographers
(38% of these films employed 0-1 women) (Ellis-Peterson). Additionally, according to
TIME, there is a 5:1 ratio of men working on films to women, and the top 2,000 grossing
films over the past 20 years have had 75% male crews (Rothman). Womens silence is

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exacerbated by the limited access to principle behind the scenes positions, as the film
industry remains gender-biased.
Behind the scenes, women are least represented as directors. The directorial
position controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while
guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision (Director).
Hollywoods most renowned directors are often all male: Spielberg, Hitchcock, Burton,
Tarantino, Lucas, Allen, and Anderson. When typing in most famous directors on
Google, only male names appeared. While there are powerful female directors, such as
Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay, and Nora Ephron, there are currently more men employed
in this fundamental position. The lack of women as directors contributes to the limited
presence of female stories and perspectives on top grossing films, as contended by
current studies.
Two studies have recently been conducted, one by USCs Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism, and another by The Guardian. Both studies examined
the underrepresentation of women as directors, and suggest that more women must be
given opportunities to work as directors on top-grossing films in order to increase the
number of women on screen. The significance of these studies is that women are not
equally represented as directors, and arguably, this position is most important role behind
the scenes, as the director translates female perspectives on screen and hires the actors.
While directors are the most significant principle position, women continue to be
underrepresented in the film industry.
The first study was conducted by Dr. Stacy Smith for USCs Annenberg School
of Communication and Journalisms Gender Inequality in Popular Films report. The

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study found that of the top 1,100 films between 2002 and 2012, only 4.4% of directors
were female (Smith). This statistic indicates that out of the top films from 2002-2012,
95.6% of the directors were male, meaning there was a 21.72:1 male to female director
ratio (Smith). Additionally, in the past ten years, only 4.4% of blockbusters (a movie with
great commercial success) have had a female director. However, USC repeated the study,
only 1.9% of the 100 top-grossing films of 2013 and 2014 were directed by women,
proving that women are currently underrepresented as directors (Murphy).
The second study, conducted by The Guardian, examined 2,000 of the topgrossing films over the past 20 years. The study found that 95% of the directors were
male, meaning only 5% were female (Ellis-Peterson). The study also found that in 2013,
fewer than 2% of directors of the top 100 grossing films last year were female (EllisPeterson). Smith and The Guardian both found that females compose of roughly 5% of
directors on top-grossing films, meaning that feminine perspective and stories arent
being translated onscreen.
Comparatively, Dr. Martha Lauzen, a professor at San Diego State University,
came to a recent conclusion regarding the lack of representation of female directors.
Lauzen claims, There are more women in the U.S. Congress than there are women
directors in Hollywood (Lauzen). Lauzen refers to the 104 women serving in the U.S.
Senate and House of Representatives during the 114 Congress of 2015-17. Lauzen
th

references the 104 women serving as congress to allude to the fact that women are
severely underrepresented in the film industry, proving Hollywoods current state of
sexism.

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The limited number of female directors has also contributed to the diminutive
number of women who have won Best Director at the Academy Awards. There have been
87 Academy Awards, and Kartheryn Bigelow was the first, and only, woman to win an
Oscar for her film, The Hurt Locker, in 2010 (Cochrane). Prior to her win, Sofia Coppola
was the first American woman to be nominated for Best Director for her 2003 movie,
Lost in Translation (Cochrane). The Academy Awards have been engrained in
Hollywoods culture for 87 years, but for nearly a century, only four females have been
nominated for Best Director and only one has won (Academy Awards).
While women are underrepresented as directors, this is not due to a lack of
ambition, but rather, that limited opportunities are presented for women. Women direct
less than 5% of top-grossing films; however, there are equal numbers of men and women
enrolled in film school. Elizabeth M. Daley, Dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts,
stated, SCA has a 50/50 ratio of women to men for our fall admission (Silverstein).
Similarly, NYUs Tisch School of the Arts had an equal ratio of men to women. Susan
Sandler, a faculty advisor for Tisch, explains that after women graduate from film school,
their opportunities become limited, as:
The talent is equal, and the opportunities just drop off for women
completely. Studios are not trusting women with big budgets; they are not
trusting women all across the board in terms of films that are studiogenerated (Murphy).
Although men and women are equal in terms of numbers and talent at film school,
women are not presented with equal work opportunities, as they hit the wall which is

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this fierce boys club (Murphy). The lack of women as directors is not due to lack of
ambition, but due to the lack of access for women to principle positions.
In addition to the lack of female directors, the representation of female writers has
decreased over the past twenty years. Researcher Susana Orozco went through every spec
script (screenplay) sale from 1991 to 2012 and found that between 1991 and 2000,
women wrote 14% of spec scripts sold. From 2001 to 2010 the percentage dropped to
13%. However, the 2011-2012 study showed that women only wrote 9% of the spec
scripts sold (Hemingway). Over the course of twenty years, the number of spec scripts
written by women decreased by 5%, and for every eight spec scripts written by men that
were sold, a woman wrote only sold one (Hemingway). Additionally, Dr. Stacy Smiths
study of Gender Inequality in Popular Films, examined films from 2007-2009 and
found that women only accounted for 13.5% of writers (Smith). Meanwhile, her study on
the top 500 films study from 2007-2012, stated that women only accounted for 12.2% of
writers (Smith). These statistics show the decrease of women working as writers,
meaning that womens perspectives and strong female characters arent as prevalent in
top-grossing films.
In addition to women being underrepresented as writers, gender equality ceases to
exist for women working as producers or editors. Dr. Stacy Smiths study, which
examined films from 2007-2009, found that women only accounted for 21.6% of
producers (Smith). However, when Smith repeated the study and examined the top 500
films from 2007-2012, she found that women only accounted for 20% of producers
(Smith). Additionally, The Guardians study found that out of the 2,000 of the biggest

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grossing films over the past 20 years (1994-2014), women were only 13% of the editors
(Ellis-Peterson).
These statistics illustrate that in order to increase the number of women in
Hollywood, there must an increase of women working behind the scenes. The Guardian
found that a director correlation between the number of women working in principle
positions behind the scenes and the prevalence of women onscreen. The study found that
when a woman directed there was a 10.6% increase of women on screen, and when there
was a female screenwriter involved, there was an 8.7% increase of women on screen
(Ellis-Peterson). Hiring (an act done by men and women who hold these few positions)
female writers and directors can increase gender equality on screen, and can lead to more
developed female characters.
In order to increase the number of women working behind the scenes, CEOs of
major film companies must be willing to hire more women. Currently, there are more
men working in Hollywood (5:1 ratio), and these men are often in charge of making
hiring decisions (Rothman). However, Aaron Sorkin, a screenwriter and producer, stated
during the Tribeca Innovation Week that hiring decisions arent made entirely by men.
There are roughly as many women who can green-light a film in Hollywood as there are
men. From Amy Pascal at Sony to Stacy Snider at DreamWorks, and Donna [Langly] at
Universal (Mulshine). Sorkin names three women who are in positions of power;
however, there are currently more than 80% of men in these positions than women
(Mulshine).
Companies such as Lionsgate, Warner Bros., Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox,
Relativity, and The Weinstein Company are all run by males with no female CEOs or

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Chairpersons. Additionally, Amy Pascal recently stepped down as Chairperson at Sony
after the Sony hack of 2014 (where emails from Sony were leaked onto the Internet),
meaning that seven out of the nine major film production companies are currently run by
males (Disney has not been included because there is no head CEO/Chairperson). While
Sorkin argues that the women in power should hire females, more often than not men are
making decisions regarding hiring (Mulshine).
Nina Jacobson, producer for The Hunger Games franchise, argues that its not
easy to hire women, although she wants to. She says:
If you're trying to hire somebody to write an action movie, and that of the
writers who have credits that appeal to you for that particular movie, 90%
of those writers are men. Then no matter how much you want to hire a
woman, there's a 90% chance that you will end up hiring a man, because
the list was so heavily weighted toward men in the first place. (Maloney)
While Sorkin contends that women should support one another, the problem is that men
are more qualified for jobs because women havent had access to the industry due to the
lack of opportunity. In order for more women to be hired in principle behind the scenes
positions, they must be given equal opportunities to prove that they are capable of
creating great films, which will lead to a greater representation of women in films.
The limited number of women on screen is reflective of the number of women
working behind the scenes. In films, women are more sexualized, speak less, and are
stereotyped more often than their male counterparts, as there are roughly 2.23 men for
every woman who appears on screen (Murphy). Compared to males, womens characters

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tend to be one-dimensional (lacking in depth or scope), and overall, there are fewer
opportunities for female actors (McCord).
Although 2014 had a number of identifiable female protagonists, such as Katniss
from The Hunger Games franchise, Amy from Gone Girl, and Cheryl from Wild, women
remain underrepresented as actors. According to CNN, out of all the major studio films
2013 summer movie releases, only two films had female leads (The Heat and City of
Bones: Mortal Instruments) (Silverstein). Additionally, according to the Center for the
Study of Women in Television and Films 2014 report, titled "It's a Man's (Celluloid)
World," only 12% of all clearly identifiable protagonists were female (Lauzen). Lauzen
found that 2014s statistics decreased 3% from 2013 and 4% from 2002. The study also
found in 2014, 75% of protagonists were male (Lauzen). The number of protagonists will
continue to decrease exponentially unless more women are presented with equal
opportunities to play powerful characters.
Furthermore, Lauzens study found that women consisted of only 29% of major
roles. In the study, major characters are referred to as characters [who] tend to appear in
more than one scene and are instrumental to the action of the story (Lauzen). Lauzen
found that 2014s statistics regarding major characters remained the same as 2013s, but
increased 2% from 2002 (Lauzen). However, when a female director or writer was
involved, 39% of protagonists were women, but when a male directed or wrote, women
comprised of only 4% of the lead characters. Additionally, the report stated that in 2014,
88% of the identifiable protagonists were men, meaning that womens perspectives arent
being shared (Lauzen).

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Similarly, women are underrepresented as speaking characters. Speaking
characters refer to characters that have one line or more. Dr. Stacy Smith found that in
2012, only 6% of top films of 2012 had balanced casts, meaning 45-54.9% of women had
speaking roles (Smith). The study also found that in 2012, females comprised of 28.4%
of all on-screen speaking characters in the top 100 films. Meanwhile, the Center for the
Study of Women in Television and Films 2014 report discovered that women accounted
for 30% of all speaking characters in 2014, which increased 2% from 2002 (Lauzen).
Similarly, The Guardians study, which examined 2,000 of the top-grossing films over the
past 20 years, found that women accounted for 30.8% of speaking characters (EllisPeterson). While women accounted for roughly 30% of speaking characters overall, when
at least one female director or writer worked on a film, women comprised of 37% of all
speaking characters (Ellis-Peterson). In order for women to be equally represented in
films, there must be more female writers and directors to translate female perspectives on
screen and increase the number of female roles.
While women are currently underrepresented in terms of numbers, female
characters are also more likely than men to be one-dimensional. One-dimensional
characters refer to a character that lacks depth or scope and isnt fully developed. Actor
and activist, Teresa Palmer, known for her role as Julie from 2012s Warm Bodies, stated,
in an email interview, typically, yes, male characters are much more developed and
layered and dynamic. There are far less interesting opportunities for females (Palmer).
She later added, the opportunities to play a strong, interesting and nuanced character
are far and few between (Palmer). Palmer, who made her film debut in 2006, speaks

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from personal experience with finding well-rounded characters. She explains that her hit
film, Warm Bodies, where she played Julie, was an eye-opening experience. She claims:
Warm Bodies was a turning point for me in many ways because Julie is a
strong and dynamic woman with something to say. She doesn't just serve
the purpose of the mans story. I've played roles like the damsel in distress
or the object of affection in previous films when I was younger and at the
time I was just happy to be working so wasn't so picky in terms of the
characters I portrayed. Now it's a different story. (Palmer)
Palmers personal experience with portraying characters that are one-dimensional brings
light to the fact that many female characters are often used to help the leading man. While
Palmer was able to portray a well-developed character who could defend herself, not all
women are as fortunate when it comes to playing female roles.
Similar to Teresa Palmers experience, actor AnnaLynne McCord, known for her
role as Naomi Clark on the CWs 90210, has fought to find three-dimensional characters.
She stated, when asked if she struggled to find well-developed characters:
Ohhhhhh. Myyyyy. Goddddd!! Yes. And yes. It's so disgusting. My agents
get emails from me all the time, I will NEVER play 'her,' Sorry guys,
not somebody's wife sitting at home, Guys. Seriously!?? Did you even
read this? She's begging the guy to be with her and has no other
purpose!!? (McCord)
McCord and Palmer both speak from personal experience regarding how they have
fought to find developed characters, as many are heavily stereotyped. The stereotyping of
female characters is evident in Saturday Night Lives spoof of underdeveloped female

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characters during the segment Weekend Update: One Dimensional Female Character
From a Male Driven Comedy. Heather, the one dimensional character, has a monotone
voice, is from work, has the body of a salad girl but eats wings and burgers, and isnt seen
as attractive until she takes off her glasses (Bahadur). While Heather is a parody, she
represents common stereotyped female characters in films, mainly in male-driven
comedies. In films, womens roles are often heavily stereotyped and underdeveloped,
meaning that there are few powerful characters for women to play.
In addition to being one-dimensional, the Center for the Study of Women in
Television and Films 2014 report found that female characters are more likely to be
identified by life-related roles than work-related roles. The study concluded that:
Male characters are more likely to be identified than female characters to
be identified only by a work-related role, such as doctor or business
executive (61% of males vs. 34% of females). In contrast, female
characters were more likely than males to be identified only by a personal
life-related role such as wife or mother (58% of females vs. 31% of
males). (Lauzen)
This statistic explains that male characters are almost twice as likely to be identified by
their careers as doctors or business executives. Meanwhile, 58% of the time, females are
identified as stay at home moms. Additionally, according to the Geena Davis Institute on
Gender and Media, women are seen as just 10% of the politicians, 5% of judges, 0% of
partners in law firms, and 13.9% of business executives (Silverstein). Women will
continue to be written as underdeveloped, stereotyped characters unless more women are
hired to work behind the scenes in the film industry.

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Female characters, in addition to being one-dimensional, are also heavily
sexualized. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Amber Heard stated, "I fought really hard
to find roles that weren't defined by their sexuality," referring to the high statistics of
sexualization of women on screen (Scott). The sexualization of women in film is defined
as women wearing sexually revealing clothing or being partially naked (Ellis-Peterson).
According to Dr. Stacy Smiths USC Annenberg report on Gender Inequality in Popular
Films from 2007-2009, women were more likely than males to be shown in sexy attire
(25.8% vs. 4.7%) or partially naked (23.6% vs. 7.4%) (Smith). Additionally, The New
York Film Academy examined how women were portrayed on screen in the top 500 films
from 2007-2012. The study contended that 28.8% of women wore sexually revealing
clothes, as opposed to 7% of men (Ellis-Peterson). Women continue to be sexualized on
screen by wearing revealing clothing, due to lack of better roles, and therefore, are taken
less seriously than their male counterparts.
While women should be allowed to wear what they want, in the film industry they
are still sexualized and defined by their attire. The issue with women being sexualized,
according to Heard, is that youre constantly asked to choose between one of two
archetypes: sexy or [serious] (Scott). In films, when women are sexualized, theyre often
portrayed as unintelligent. However, when women arent sexualized, theyre portrayed as
smart, meaning that women cant be sexy and smart. In the words of Amber Heard, I
should not have to choose to be taken seriously or to be beautiful (Scott). In order for
women to be taken seriously as actors, they must be presented with equally developed
characters to play.

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The Bechdel Test is used to see how women are presented in film, and found that
half of female characters are underdeveloped and their primary purpose is to serve the
leading man (Bechdel Test). According to AnnaLynne McCord, The Bechdel Test was
designed to rate films for the ratio of female to male roles, importance of the female
roles, and relevance of female characters outside of their connections to leading men
(McCord). The Bechdel Test measures films to see how accurately and equally women
are represented. In order for a film to pass the test, it must, a) include at least two named
female characters, b) show the female characters talking to each other, and c) show them
talking to each other about something other than men (Pulver). According to the Bechdel
Tests website, 42.3% of films fail the test. The website states that there are 5873
movies in the database, 3386 (57.7%) of which pass all three tests, 600 (10.2%) pass two
tests, 1283 (21.8%) pass one test and 604 (10.3%) pass no tests at all (Bechdel Test).
These statistics show, on average, that 42.3% of films do not have two named female
characters that talk to one another about something other than a man. To increase the
representation of women on screen, they must be given opportunities to play welldeveloped characters.
In addition to women being underrepresented behind the scenes and on screen,
women are paid less than their male counterparts. Women have made less than male
actors since The Wizard of Oz (1939). Judy Garland, who played Dorothy, was paid less
than all the other lead actors, although she played the protagonist. The actors who played
the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wizard were all paid $2,500 $3,000 per week. Meanwhile, Garland was paid $500 dollars per week, which is $2,500
less than what the Tin Man and Scarecrow made (Cronin). While women currently make

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more than what Judy Garland did, women in the United States are still making 77 cents
for every dollar a man makes, and at this rate, women will not achieve equal pay until
2058 (Pay Equity & Discrimination). The history of gender inequality and payment has
led to oppressive gender roles in Hollywood, as females continue to be paid less than
male actors.
The current state of inequality, in terms of pay, is not based upon gender, but
rather an actor's worth in a film (Safo). Peter Sealey, former head of marketing at
Columbia Pictures, claims that calculating salaries "involves a lot of variables but
principally it is: how much of a draw will that actor or actress be for your target
audience? (Safo). Entertainment lawyer Jonathan Handel believes that actors salaries
are also calculated based upon their social media presence and fan following (Safo).
While an actors salary is based upon worth and social media presence, women are still
paid less than their male counterparts.
The Sony Hack of 2014, that made emails public, proved that women, such as
Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lawrence, and Amy Adams, all made less than their male
counterparts. The hack revealed that the female stars of the 2013 Oscar-nominated film,
American Hustle, earned less than their male costars, even though they had equal roles.
Sealy and Handel claim that salaries are based upon how much of a draw will that actor
or actress be for [the] target audience (Safo) and social media presence; however,
Jennifer Lawrence, who had a massive fan-following from The Hunger Games franchise
in 2012, 2013, and 2014, was paid less because she was a woman (Murphy).
In an email exchange from December 5th, 2013, Sony and Columbia Pictures
negotiated Jennifer Lawrences back-end profit earnings. Back-end profits refer to the

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total earnings of a film. Actors earn some of the profit of film, which can be anywhere
from a couple to more than ten percent of the total gross (Burley). Jennifer Lawrence
had recently starred in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, had won an Academy Award
for best actress in 2013 for her role as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook, and was
nominated for an Academy Award in 2011 (Murphy). However, these accomplishments
didnt raise Lawrences salary, as her male co-star, Bradley Cooper, was nominated for an
Oscar for the same film but did not win, and had less of a social media presence. Still,
Cooper made 2 more points (percentages of back-end profits) than Lawrence, as did
Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale (Murphy). While Lawrence made less than her male
counterparts, she did earn the same amount as the other female lead, Amy Adams.
Amy Adams, a four-time Oscar nominated actress, and Lawrence, both made 2%
less than their male counterparts. Lawrence and Adams both made 7% off of the back-end
profits, while their male counterparts made 9%. Additionally, it should be stated that
originally, Lawrence was to make 5% of the back-end profits, according to an email
written by Andrew Gumpert, President of Business Affairs and Administration at
Columbia Pictures (Kohn). While the five leads had equal roles in American Hustle,
Lawrence and Adams sex kept them from achieving equal compensation.
The specific case of the Sony Hack proves the current state of sexism in
Hollywood. Nina Jacobson, executive producer of The Hunger Games franchise,
explains, studios will take advantage of the historical pay gap because that means that
you'll spend less money, and therefore, arguably, make more money (Maloney). This
explains why, in the Forbes 2013 list of the top ten highest paid actors and actresses,
women made a collective $181 million compared to $465 million made by the top ten

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male actors (Ellis-Peterson). Additionally, in 2014, Forbes highest paid actor was Robert
Downey Jr., who made $75 million, compared to the highest paid actress, Sandra
Bullock, who made $51 million (Pomerantz). The $24 million dollar salary difference
between top earning male and female actors reflects Hollywoods sexism.
While women earn less than men, Amy Pascal, former Sony Executive, claims
that sexism isnt why women are paid less, but that women are not demanding more
(Bryce). At the Women in the World event, Pascal proclaimed, I run a business. People
want to work for less money, Ill pay them less money. I dont call them up and go, can I
give you some more? (Bryce). Additionally, Pascal blamed women for not demanding
more pay, adding, They have to walk away. People shouldnt be so grateful for jobs
(Bryce). According to Pascal, sexism is not the problem, but rather that women are. She
argues that women must demand a higher salary; however, that is not always possible.
While Pascal presents a logical and acceptable explanation, founder and CEO of
the Representation Project, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, argues that women cant demand for
higher salaries because they will be fired. Newsom claims, Often times theyre just told,
This is the salary, take it or leave it, or were going to give this job to somebody else
(Murphy). She adds, How many actresses are really given room to negotiate? The
studios can easily threaten to give the job to another actress. There arent that many great
roles for actresses still in the entertainment industry (Murphy). While Pascals claim is
valid, for many actresses its out of the question. There are a limited number of threedimensional characters for women to play, and typically, women arent going to negotiate
if they want a powerful role.

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Additionally, women often arent aware of what other actors salaries are.
Charlize Theron, who portrayed the Queen in Snow White and the Huntsman, was
earning less than her male counterpart Chris Hemsworth, who played the Huntsman, in
the upcoming film The Huntsman. The Sony Hack of 2014 shared that Hemsworth was
paid more than Theron (Therons salary was not stated), as he was making roughly $10
million for the film (Covert). Theron was unaware of the salary difference until the Sony
Hack, which enabled her to negotiate and earn the same salary as Hemsworth. While
Theron was able to negotiate the same salary after the Sony Hack, she was one of the few
women able to argue for equitable payment because of her elevated status (Lowery).
The film industry takes advantage of the historic wage gap to save money on
films, however, men and women should be paid equally. The $24 million dollar salary
difference between the top-earning male and female actors reflects the gender inequality
in Hollywood (Pomerantz). The opportunity to earn an equivalent salary is dependent
upon the number of women working in the film industry who want to help women
succeed.
Hollywood must realize its current perpetration of sexism before it can progress
toward gender equality. Actor, activist, and director AnnaLynne McCord states,
Hollywood needs to open its eyes. It needs to take responsibility for the responsibility it
has (McCord). Similarly, according to Jane Fonda, We have to make sure that [studios]
realize they are being gender-biased so that they are self-conscious about it (Miller). The
film industry must recognize that equitable representation of the sexes is not just part of
the next feminist movement, but is a human rights issue. Jennifer Newsom, director,
writer, and producer of Miss Representation, claims:

Edwards 21
[The underrepresentation of women is] a human rights issue. This isnt a
womens movement; its a movement for women, men, kids and parents.
The media is perpetuating an injustice and sending a message to our kids
boys and girls that a womans value lies in her youth, her beauty and her
sexuality. (Drake)
Hollywood, in order to progress, must recognize that the lack of women in the film
industry is a human rights issue at its core. Furthermore, the underrepresentation of
women must continually [be] brought up and hammered on, so that talking about it
eventually leads to measurable, consistent change (Lambert). Similarly, Teresa Palmer
states, The more we have campaigns rallying against this type of sexist behavior the
more we can start to create a new normal (Palmer). While recognizing and fixing a
problem are separate issues, the first step to combating sexism is for Hollywood to take
responsibility for it (Associated Press).
Once the power and compensation imbalance is recognized, and is established as
sexism, women in powerful positions must work together and demand more. In the span
of a week, from April 25th to May 2nd, 2015, Meryl Streep, Kristen Stewart, Cary
Mulligan, and Anna Kendrick all called out Hollywoods sexism. In the past, Helen
Mirren, Kiera Knightly, Patricia Arquette, and Jennifer Garner have all accused
Hollywood of sexism. Jennifer Newsom argues, You need the Jennifer Lawrences and
Reese Witherspoons and Meryl Streeps and Sandra Bullocks to come together and say,
Somethings gotta change, here (Murphy). Women must come together and combat
sexism as a team. Particularly, more women in powerful positions must fight for equal
rights in order for Hollywood to progress. Additionally, when wanting equal pay, women

Edwards 22
cant perpetuate the status quo they all need to make equal pay a priority and a
mandate. Every department beneath them needs to know that this is the rule, the law of
the land, and the way things have to be (Murphy). Building a foundation of female
power and support can lead to more women being represented in front and behind the
scenes (Lauzen).
Additionally, Teresa Palmer adds to Newsoms argument by stating that the more
women must fight for equal rights. In an email change, when asked how Hollywood can
progress toward equality, Palmer replied:
I think the more we have people with a strong profile and presence speak
against sexism the stronger the movement will become and the more the
media will start to shift things. The media has so much control but without
the ones they report about on their side they have little power. Hopefully
we will continue to see influential people take a stand on the issue.
(Palmer)
Palmer argues that women with strong presences in the media must combat the sexism in
order for the media to be positive and impartial. People must use their voices as a positive
change in order to fight the current state of sexism. The current nature of the film
industry must be confronted in order to progress toward equitable representation for all of
the sexes (Schnall).
Dr. Stacy Smith, of USC, has developed a three-part solution to increase the
number of women as directors and actors. Smith argues that women must demand for
equity to be written into contracts, as the percentage of women working on films could
increase. Smith explains, If notable actors working across 25 top films in 2013 had made

Edwards 23
this change to their contracts, the proportion of balanced films (about half-female) would
have jumped from 16 percent to 41 percent (Smith). When referring to notable actors,
Smith agrees with Jennifer Newsoms argument to have top-grossing actors such as
Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and Sandra Bullock make negotiations for all women.
Additionally, Smith claims that putting equity in contracts wouldnt increase leading
roles for females, but it would create a diverse onscreen demography reflecting a
population comprised of 50 percent women and girls (Smith). By having top-grossing
actors negotiate for equity, more women would be involved in films and it would increase
the overall representation of women in film.
Smiths second solution is to adopt a modified Rooney Rule (Mirhashem). The
Rooney Rule is used in the National Football League and requires teams to interview
minority candidates for head coaching positions. Smith argues, the industry could adopt
a modified Rooney Rule for hiring decisions to allow more women to be considered for
open directing jobs (Mangat). By implementing a modified Rooney Rule, film studios
would be required to interview women, which could lead to an increase of female
directors, and over time, more women in the industry as a whole.
Dr. Stacy Smith also believes that adding five female characters to every film will
lead to equity representation of women in the industry. Smith, when writing for The
Hollywood Reporter, wrote, Add five female speaking roles. This approach creates jobs
for female actors without taking parts away from male actors, and the cost based on
SAG-AFTRA estimates is about $4,400 per film (Smith). Adding five female
speaking roles would correct the gender imbalance in top-grossing films in just four
years (Smith). Adding five female characters to speak one line or more would cost

Edwards 24
$4,400; however, the top 100 films per year, on average, make over $25 million.
According to Smith, $4,400 to the production costs seems like a very small ask.
Smiths proposal is a cost-effective solution that would not change any male characters,
but rather, would add more female characters that in four years would correct the current
underrepresentation of women in film.
In addition to Smiths proposal, Geena Davis, actor and founder of the Geena
Davis Institute on Women in Film, believes that writing in women can lead to equal
representation. Davis developed a two-step plan that involves placing females in typically
male-dominated roles. She instructs writers to go through the projects you're already
working on and change a bunch of the characters' first names to women's names. With
one stroke you've created some colorful unstereotypical female characters (Gray). Davis
adds, What if the taxi driver or the scheming politician is a woman? What if both police
officers that arrive on the scene are women -- and it's not a big deal? (Gray). She argues
that giving women male-dominated roles will create unique, and possibly, powerful
characters. Davis second step to increasing the number of women on screen is to, when
describing a crowd scene, write in the script, A crowd gathers, which is half female
(Gray). Davis argues that unless this is written in, only 17% of the crowd will be female.
This solution is simple and effective, and increases the number of women on screen,
which will lead to greater salaries and overall representation of women (Gray).
In order to increase the equity of women in the film industry, all these solutions
must be used. Increasing the number of women in Hollywood is a multilayered issue that
requires various solutions. All of these solutions are necessary in order to increase the
representation of women in principle behind the scenes positions, on screen, and to

Edwards 25
enable women to earn equal pay. Recognizing sexism and actively challenging
Hollywood to become a equal workplace are two different solutions, but both must work
together to increase the number of opportunities for women. Once the sexism is
recognized, women must band together and write equity into their contracts to promote
equal representation, which will increase the number of women behind and in front of the
camera. Lastly, Hollywood must adopt a modified Rooney Rule, add five women to every
film, and gender-swap characters to give women equal opportunities to portray powerful
characters. If Hollywood uses all of these solutions, sexism would exponentially
decrease, as women would be able to access equal roles and salaries,
Movies, while created for entertainment, also create worlds where anything is
possible. Boys grow up believing they can be anything: an astronaut, football player,
politician, pilot, prince, or actor. Meanwhile, girls believe they can be actors, designers,
models, and soccer players. According to AnnaLynne McCord, the overall
representation of females in media sends this message: Girls and Women, you will not
have a life outside of your connection to a man's life You will be a sex object for him,
which he either marries or uses for pleasure (McCord). This message will continue to
be absorbed by young girls unless more women are involved in the film industry and
create well-rounded, strong female characters.

Edwards 26

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