In 2018, a number of women in Hollywood delivered incredible work and made career defining deals. Letitia Wright was just named the biggest draw at the box office. Lena Waithe debuted the first season of her series, The Chi. To top it all off, Ava DuVernay signed a deal worth up to $100 million with Warner Bros. With all of the success, women in Hollywood had in front of the camera and in the board room there is still a long way to go behind the camera. Despite the recent success of directors like Ava DuVernay, a recent report showed that only 8% of films were directed by women last year.
According to a study done by Dr. Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University, there is a severe lack of women behind the camera. The report states, “Women accounted for 8% of directors, down 3 percentage points from 11% in 2017. This is 1 percentage point below the 9% achieved in 1998.” Another year-end report from Dr. Lauzen also finds that there is a major gender gap among film critics. The report reads, “Thumbs Down found that men comprise 68% and women 32% of all film reviewers. Men wrote 71% and women 29% of all reviews. Men outnumber women in every job title category and type of media outlet considered.”
