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Why Are There So Few Female Film Directors?

June 2021 | Amy Clarke

Have you ever wondered why there are so few female feature film directors? Amy Clarke, aspiring director, look at the possibilities.

Why Are There So Few Female Film Directors? Image

As we all know the number of female film directors is far less than that of men.  The issue has been highlighted over recent years. Many articles have been written, debates carried out, billboards made which sit over dual carriageways in Los Angeles with the slogan – Even the US senate is more progressive than Hollywood. Female film directors in Hollywood account for only 4%. The film industry is under pressure to find answers and solve this problem.

An investigation

Recently there has been a huge investigation by Directors UK . The investigative report took 9 months to put together.  The report can be read in full here - its aim was to assess whether inequality does exist and make suggestions to improve the gender imbalance.

The report found that 13% of films in the UK where directed by women. The facts are that female film directors will direct fewer films in their career compared to men. As budgets rise the percent of women directing films decreases. Women working in the film industry in most crew roles is disproportionate to that of men.

It could be argued that women are less interested than men to direct. Interestingly, the number of women and men studying film is close to 50/50. The same number of women choose to study film as men do - so are they going on to do?

The report found that as women progress forward within their careers, the numbers begin drop off significantly.  27% of British short film directors are women, when moving into low budget feature films the number falls to 16%. Only 3% of  UK high budget blockbuster films are directed by women.  The report identifies some reasons why this may be so -

  • The un-family-friendly nature of the film industry – long hours, sporadic employment

  • Lack of role models for aspiring female directors

  • Male employers tend to hire more men,  more men hiring equals more men being hired

  • An unconscious bias towards the hiring of female film directors

My experience

I am a 25 year old woman who aspires to direct films. The only sexism I have encountered so far has been the odd quip remarks along the lines of men ‘don’t want to see a woman in charge’ or that I simply ‘don’t have the physical size to be taken seriously by a film crew’.

I have rarely met female film directors in person. The majority of directors I have met are male and usually convey the look and extraverted personality that is archetypal of directors.  I feel that the film industry is ultra competitive and that men are encouraged more than women to pursue directing. My university film production class was 80% male. Two out of four women from my course now have gone into teaching.  I see Teaching and nursing to be the go to careers for women I know, I have been actively encouraged to go into teaching myself from family members as film work lacks security.

I do personally worry about how I will progress as a director. In a few years I will be wanting to direct my first feature film. I will be 30 years old and choosing to spend money that could be spent on a mortgage, on the gamble of making a film. With film being the all absorbing ambition that it is,  I feel that women filmmakers are made to choose between their career and a family.

Action to be taken!

After reading the report last month the BFI have pledged to back films with a 50/50 gender equality by the year 2020. The report aims for all UK based funding parties to give half of their funding to female film directors. The report also suggests that the UK film tax relief should be amended to take into account how diverse a film has been when hiring crew members.

The investigation believes that by hiring more women, more female role models will emerge, the image of a director then will become free from gender bias, and thus more women will be hired to direct. Will the process of funding bodies being more gender diverse tackle the problem?

I believe that more role models is important, but I’m not in favour of a tokenistic approach to hiring film directors. I would not want to be hired as director just to simple fit a diversity obligation.  If the main issue is indeed a lack of child care and the long hours of film set work (making it impossible for women to work once they have had children) is simply hiring more women directors solving the issue?

Why do you believe there are so few female film directors? What are your thoughts on the BFI’s plans for 50/50 funding by 2020?




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