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Author:
Martha Lauzen Ph.D.
Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film
Professor, School of Theatre, Television and Film at San Diego State University,
Dr. Martha M. Lauzen conducts academic and industry research on the role of women in television and film.
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She holds a Ph.D. in Public Communication from the University of Maryland.
The findings of Dr. Lauzen's annual studies on women and the media have been featured in prominent entertainment trade publications, including Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and MediaWeek, as well as published nationally in the popular press, including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Dallas Morning News, TV Guide and Working Mother.
Dr. Lauzen has authored numerous articles and papers on women and mass communication and mass communication and society. Her work has appeared in Television Quarterly, the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, the Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly and Mass Communication & Society.
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THE CELLULOID CEILING IN 2008The Celluloid Ceiling:
Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women
on the Top 250 Films of 2008
Copyright © 2009 – All rights reserved.
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In 2008, women comprised 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 3 percentage points from 2001 and an increase of one percentage point from 2007.
Women accounted for 9% of directors in 2008, an increase of three percentage points from 2007. This figure represents no change from the percentage of women directing in 1998.
The following summary provides employment figures for 2008 and compares the most recent statistics with those from the last 10 years.
Findings
• This study analyzed behind-the-scenes employment of 2,706 individuals working on the top 250 domestic grossing films (foreign films omitted) of 2008 with combined domestic box office grosses of approximately $9.4 billion.
• Twenty two percent (22%) of the films released in 2008 employed no women directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, or editors. No films failed to employ a man in at least one of these roles.
• An historical comparison of women’s employment on the top 250 films in 2008 and 1998 reveals that the percentages of women directors and cinematographers have remained stable, whereas the percentages of women writers, executive producers, producers, and editors have declined slightly (see Figure 2).
• Women comprised 9% of all directors working on the top 250 films of 2008. Ninety percent (90%) of the films had no female directors.
• Women accounted for 12% of writers working on the top 250 films of 2008. Eighty two percent (82%) of the films had no female writers.
• Women comprised 16% of all executive producers working on the top 250 films of 2008. Sixty five percent (65%) of the films had no female executive producers.
• Women accounted for 23% of all producers working on the top 250 films of 2008. Forty three percent (43%) of the films had no female producers.
• Women accounted for 17% of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2008. Seventy nine percent (79%) of the films had no female editors.
• Women comprised 4% of all cinematographers working on the top 250 films of 2008. Ninety six percent (96%) of the films had no female cinematographers.
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