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Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 250 Films of 2006

THE CELLULOID CEILING

 by Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D.

___________________________

The Celluloid Ceiling:

Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on the Top 250 Films of 2006

Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., School of Communication, San Diego State University,
San Diego, CA 92182, 619.594.6301

Copyright © 2007 -- All rights reserved.

In 2006, women comprised 15% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films.  This is the same percentage of women employed in these roles in 1999 and represents a decline of two percentage points from 2005 (see Figure 1).

Women accounted for 7% of directors in 2006, the same percentage recorded in 2005. However, this is less than the recent historical high of 11% recorded in 2000.

The following summary provides employment figures for 2006 and compares the most recent statistics with those from the last 9 years.

Findings:

• This study analyzed behind-the-scenes employment of 2,718 individuals working on the top 250 domestic grossing films (foreign films omitted) of 2006 with combined domestic box office grosses of approximately $8.9 billion.
  
  
• Twenty two percent (22%) of the films released in 2006 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.
  
  
• A historical comparison of women’s employment on the top 250 films in 2006 and 1998 reveals that the percentages of women directors, writers, executive producers, producers, and cinematographers have declined, whereas the percentage of women editors has increased by a single percentage point (see Figure 2).
  
  
• Women comprised 7% of all directors working on the top 250 films of 2006. Ninety two percent (92%) of the films had no female directors (see Figure 3).
  
  
• Women accounted for 10% of writers working on the top 250 films of 2006. Eighty four percent (84%) of the films had no female writers.
  
  
• Women comprised 16% of all executive producers working on the top 250 films of 2006 (see Figure 3).   Sixty three percent (63%) of the films had no female executive producers.
  
  
• Women accounted for 20% of all producers working on the top 250 films of 2006.  Forty three percent (43%) of the films had no female producers.
  
  
• Women accounted for 21% of all editors working on the top 250 films of 2006.  Seventy five percent (75%) of the films had no female editors.
  
  
• Women comprised 2% of all cinematographers working on the top 250 films of 2006. Ninety eight percent (98%) of the films had no female cinematographers.
  
  
• By genre, women were most likely to work on documentaries and romantic comedies and least likely to work on science fiction and horror features.
  
  
• Women comprised 28% of individuals working on documentaries, followed by 25% on romantic comedies, 23% on comedy/dramas, 19% of romantic dramas, 16% on animated features, 14% on dramas, 12% on comedies and action adventure features, 10% on science fiction, and 5% on horror features.

→ Figure 1.

Historical Comparison of Percentages of Women Employed in Key Behind-the-Scenes Roles (includes directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and cinematographers).

→ Figure 2.

Historical Comparison of Percentages of Women Employed Behind the Scenes on Top 250 Films by Role.

→ Figure 3.

Comparison of Percentages of Women and Men Employed on Top 250 Films of 2006.

Report compiled by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, 619.594.6301

You can also download Dr. Lauzen's report in a PDF file (212KB) for easy printing and offline-reading.

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