Women directors are working more than ever, but aren't being recognized

At the Golden Globes earlier this month, no women were nominated in the category of Best Director. Yet not only did women direct many critically acclaimed features in 2019 — including Little Women, Honey Boy, and The Farewell — there were more women-directed top-grossing movies in 2019 than in any year before. 

Unfortunately, this total lack of female director nominees is nothing new in Hollywood. Only one woman has ever won Best Director at both the Oscars and the Globes. Of the female directorial nominees across the four top award shows in the past 12 years, the Golden Globes placed second to last, just before the Oscars, with only 4.5% female nominees. 

This lack of recognition contrasts with evidence that the number of women directors is not only on the rise but that women directors are as talented and capable as male directors. A new study from USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative analyzed 1,300 top films from 2007 to 2019. Of those films, 4.8% were directed by women. While that number may seem small, year-to-year comparisons reveal that serious progress was made in 2019. Last year 10.6% of the top-grossing films were directed by women, a significant increase from 4.5% in 2018. The study also proved that the gender of a director made no difference in a film’s critical reception; The average Metacritic score was 55 for women and 54 for men. 

However, the study also emphasized the unfortunate truth that the issue of representation and recognition is still quite dire for women of color. Of the 57 women who directed top-grossing films between 2007 and 2019, only 11 were women of color — including Melina Matsoukas, director of Queen and Slim, Ava DuVernay, director of Selma, and Kasi Lemmons, director of Harriet. Despite the standout success of these women and their peers, in the past 12 years, less than 1% of top films were directed by women from underrepresented communities.

Notably, the average Metacritic score of women of color-helmed films was higher than any other demographic, at 62.5. As researchers explained in their conclusion, “it is clear that the barrier to seeing more women of color directing is not due to the quality of their filmmaking but rather a biased hiring system.” 

The study also concluded that women are specifically underrepresented among directors of top-grossing movies; women only directed 4.8% of those films. On the other hand, women enjoyed significantly more representation in television and independent films, where they respectively took up 31% and 34.5% of directorial roles. 

These statistics give voice to a phenomenon that women in film have been talking about for years: Women aren’t given the same big breaks as their male peers. In one glaring example, Ava Duvernay and Colin Trevorrow both directed films included in The 2012 Sundance Film Festival; Trevorrow was premiering his first dramatic feature, and Duvernay was premiering her second. Afterward, DuVernay went on to the direct Selma with a budget of $20 million — but only after Lee Daniels passed on the film. Trevorrow, on the other hand, was hired to direct Jurassic World with a budget of $150 million. 

Clearly, sexism runs deep within the culture of Hollywood and won’t be eradicated overnight. If the numbers from 2019 are any indication for 2020 and beyond, however, it seems there may be light at the end of the tunnel for women directors. Hopefully, we’ll see talented women continue to helm award-worthy projects in 2020.