Lagging representation for women directors in film is an international problem.
An analysis conducted by the Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California at Annenberg found that, worldwide, women accounted for just 11% of all directors leading on the production of films in 11 studied countries.
Specifically, researchers looked at over 4,500 feature-length films from the past 10 years that earned at least $1 million at the global box office. They were directed by just shy of 5,000 directors, and were made in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand or the United Kingdom.
Not one of those countries even came close to parity. The leader of the pack, Germany, had just 18.7% of its films made by women. India and Japan were at the lowest end, with 4.9% and 4.7% of their films directed by women, respectively. (In the U.S., women comprised 11.3% of directors, roughly the average among the countries assessed.)
“For several years, we have examined the prevalence of women directors of top-grossing movies,” Dr. Stacy L. Smith, leader of the study, said in a press release sent to Variety. “The results of this report demonstrate that there is still a steeper climb to the top leadership position in film for women no matter what country they work in.”
The figures were particularly frustrating when viewed through an intersectional lens. Last year, for example, just 5.7% of directors were women of color – a significant jump from 2.5% in 2015, but still extremely small.
In short, progress continues, but at a snail’s pace. As researchers summarized it: “Overall, the results reveal that women have found ways to showcase their storytelling talent in a variety of places — but that they are still underrepresented relative to men.”
