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Amy Lynch
Mrs. Thompson
AP Lang, Block 1, Skinny A
March 2nd, 2015
Term Paper: Publish Ready
Gender Inequality in the Film Industry
As Ava DuVernay once said, Hollywood is a patriarchal structure that values men.
Although many people are naive about the lack of opportunity for women in the film industry,
there is a large income gender gap present between the sexes, which may be a result of the
expectation of women to bear children (Hanmer 63). One prime example of gender inequality is
the film industry in which there is a wide variety of jobs both on and off screen. Actors, directors,
screenwriters, pre-production, and postproduction crews are just a few of the jobs that contribute
to making films. Unfortunately, there is a large gender gap present as men tend to receive more
benefits than their female coworkers. Currently, there are not nearly as many female employees
as there are men both on screen and off the screen but there are efforts being made to end this.
The Bechdel Test and Chicanas female empowerment movies hope to fix the gender gap
present in the film industry because females receive less screen time, are more likely to be
depicted in scandalous attire, and receive less pay than their male counterparts.
In the case Gender Inequality in 500 Popular Films carried out by the Annenberg
School for Communication & Journalism, the top five hundred films from 2007 to 2012 are
examined to see if there is a disparity between the genders. The study discovered that women on
average only represent 30.84% of the casts and that only 6% of the top grossing movies had a
balanced cast. Not only do females receive fewer jobs on average than men, but they also receive

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fewer speaking lines, many of which depict them to sound weak or reliant on men. Out of the
4,475 speaking characters observed, only 28.4% were female actors which comes out to around
2.5 males for every female (Smith). As a result, females are often not the focus in films since
male actors are more likely to be seen and heard on screen more.
Not only do female actresses receive fewer lines, but they are also more likely than their
male cast members to be sexualized or seen in scandalous attire. Female actors have a 31%
chance of being showed partially naked versus only have a 7% chance for men. Recently, there
has been a dramatic increase in the amount of scandalous behavior among female teenage actors
(Smith). By incorporating promiscuous attire or behavior into films, movie companies believe
that they will attract more men to the theatre. A plausible reason for the involvement of
scandalous women in movies could be that it may bring in more revenue and create a higher
profit film. The older an actress becomes, the less chance there is that she will be presented
provocatively. There is also a decrease in the amount of female actresses as the age range
increases. This may be because the sexual attraction men have for women often decreases as the
women ages. One question many people ask is why female sexuality is so high in movies when
male and females buy the same amount of tickets each year ("Gender Inequality in Film - An
Infographic). Even though tickets are bought equally by each gender, the production of the films
never have an equal amount of each gender participating. Since men are the majority on and off
screen in the film industry, they often have the say of what they want in their movie, which is
often sexualization.
Furthermore, the salary of women on screens is also significantly less than their fellow
male cast members. Out of the top 16 actors paychecks, not even one female is in the rankings.
Angelina Jolie, the highest paid female actress, receives the same salary as the two lowest ranked

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men from that category. In addition, the cumulative of the top ten male actors is equivalent to
465 million while the top ten paid females paychecks only equates to 181 million ("Gender
Inequality in Film - An Infographic). It is lucid that the movie industry views men as more
important contributors to the movie.
The gender gap is also present behind-the-scenes in jobs such as directors, editors, and
writers. These female workers also receive fewer job opportunities and receive less recognition
for their work than men do. The imbalance is noted in the Annenberg School for Communication
& Journalism study when it states, Women account for 4.1% of directors, 12.2% of the writers,
and 20% of the producers. This calculates to a 2012 ratio of 5 males to every 1 female behind the
camera (Smith). When a female is working behind the scenes, there is a greater chance for more
women to be involved in the film. For instance, most female directors have risen to power by
directing (and often writing) films that appeal to women, whether or not that's their natural
inclination (Abramowitz). For example, there is a 10.6% increase female cast members when a
female is directing the film. In addition, there is also an 8.7% increase when the screenwriter is a
female ("Gender Inequality in Film - An Infographic."). One solution to this gender imbalance
would be to hire more female directors as it tends to have a positive feedback loop.
Females behind the scenes workers receive far less credit and fewer awards than men do.
During the 2013 Academy Awards, no female directors, music producers, editors, videographers,
or writers were nominated for an award. Overall, the men control the award show since 140
nominees are male while only 35 are female. This gender imbalance is nothing new though. In
fact, it has been occurring for decades. For instance, In 85 years, only 7 women producers have
won the Best Picture awards while only 8 women have won the Best Original screenplay in 73

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years.(Gender Inequality in Film - An Infographic). The lack of female nominees and winners
may be biased since around 77% of voters are male.
Although the gender imbalance in film has been occurring for decades, there has been
efforts to alleviate the problem. Recently, a Swedish movie rating company invented the
venerated Bechdel Test to implicate that the amount of sexism and gender stereotypes in
movies needs to be reduced. The Bechdel rating system scores movies based on the females
characters characteristics such as whether she relies on men of not. Their belief is that gender
stereotypes are fueled from movies that lack a female superhero or female professor or person
who makes it through all exciting challenges and masters them (Swedish Cinemas Take Aim at
Gender Bias with Bechdel Rating). Many popular movies such as Harry Potter, Lord of the
Rings, and Star Wars all fail the test. Another exemplary attempt to end the gender imbalance is
currently being made by the Chicana group. In their films, they make sure to portray their
feminine point of view in order to emphasize the importance of women (Cortina 3). More people
in the movie industry should adopt this tenacity since emphasizing the importance of women in
movies could really help make a positive impact on how the world views women.
In conclusion, women in the film industry do not receive the same benefits as their male
coworkers whether they are on or off screen. Female actresses are more likely to be sexualized
and have fewer speaking lines. A majority of the casts are male and do not focus attention on the
women unless they are involved in some type of promiscuous behavior. In addition, many female
characters are often depicted as weak, reliant on men, or bratty. Women behind the scenes also
face this patronizing imbalance since they receive a lower salary and less recognition for their
work. Although there is a gender imbalance present, there are many auspicious attempts to end

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the inequality. By encouraging the film industry to hire more females and include more
independent female characters in their movies, the gender gap could be fixed forever.