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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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2007 Celluloid Ceiling Report
View PDF Version In 2007, women comprised 15% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films. This represents a decline of 2 percentage points from 1998 and represents no change from 2006 (see Figure 1). Women accounted for 6% of directors in 2007, a decline of one percentage point since 2006. This figure is almost half the percentage of women directors working in 2000 when women accounted for 11% of all directors. The following summary provides employment figures for 2007 and compares the most recent statistics with those from the last 10 years. Findings  | This study analyzed behind-the-scenes employment of 2,883 individuals working on the top 250 domestic grossing films (foreign films omitted) of 2007 with combined domestic box office grosses of approximately $9.3 billion. |
| Twenty one percent (21%) of the films released in 2007 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. |
Figure 1
Historical Comparison of Percentages of Women Employed in Key Behind-the-Scenes Roles* |  | Mouse-over Images to enlarge them
*includes directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and cinematographers. | | A historical comparison of women’s employment on the top 250 films in 2007 and 1998 reveals that the percentage of women in every role considered has declined (see Figure 2). |
| Women comprised 6% of all directors working on the top 250 films of 2007. Ninety four percent (94%) of the films had no female directors (see Figure 3). |
Figure 2:
Historical Comparison of Percentages of Women Employed Behind the Scenes on Top 250 Films by Role |  | | Women accounted for 10% of writers working on the top 250 films of 2007. Eighty two percent (82%) of the films had no female writers. |
| Women comprised 14% of all executive producers working on the top 250 films of 2007 (see Figure 3). Sixty seven percent (67%) of the films had no female executive producers. |
| Women accounted for 22% of all producers working on the top 250 films of 2007. Thirty seven percent (37%) of the films had no female producers. |
| Women accounted for 17% of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2007. Seventy nine percent (79%) of the films had no female editors. |
Figure 3
Comparison of Percentages of Women and Men Employed on Top 250 Films of 2007 |  | | Women comprised 2% of all cinematographers working on the top 250 films of 2007. Ninety eight percent (98%) of the films had no female cinematographers. |
| By genre, women were most likely to work on romantic comedies, romantic dramas, and documentaries and least likely to work on science fiction, action-adventure, and horror features. |
| Report compiled by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, 619.594.6301 |
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