This is how the film industry ended 2019 regarding gender issues

The gender struggle and feminism have been a priority in the film industry in recent years. Not only did the #MeToo movement have started in this world of movies, but now more film productions are demanded.

It is not enough, then, to condemn acts of violence and demand a safe working environment for women, but now other issues such as representativeness on and off the screen and the wage gap are other points in the feminist agenda within this industry.

Although much progress has been made on these issues and although they must now be something to be taken into account by the producers, parity is not yet achieved. This is why many organizations and universities monitor these issues year after year, to continue demanding an industry that was long-exploited, violent and silencer.

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A new record

According to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the film industry broke a new record this year: never have so many of the highest-grossing films ever been directed by women. Normally, although there are many female directors and writers, the films that usually head the box office collection are always directed by men. During 2019, however, the number of higher-grossing commercial films directed by women doubled the number of 2018.

The truth is that movies like Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig; Hustlers, by Lorene Scafaria; Booksmart, by Olivia Wilde; and from Farewell, from Lulu Wang, were very well received at the box office and by critics. These tapes, in addition to being directed by women, also tell stories of women, so representativeness has also grown in that regard. It is increasingly natural to watch movies with female protagonists and female perspectives.

To all this, the results of an investigation of the San Diego State University are added. This study confirms that not only the number of directors has increased but also the film industry has employed many more women in comparison with 2018. According to this study, the number of directors, writers, producers, editors and photographers in the top 100 of movies increased by 4% compared to 2018.

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Is there victory?

No. The studies also affirm that victory is not yet here, since the road to complete parity is still very long. Although during 2019 the numbers of female participation in the industry grew by a high percentage and reached a new record, the truth is that before they were so low that even with this rise in women's jobs in the cinema it is not even close of parity.

While there have never been so many directors among the list of highest-grossing films, these barely represent 10.6% of the directors in such films. In 2018, they represented 4.5%. In this sense, although the number of highest-grossing film directors doubled, the percentage remains minimal next to the films directed by men. Still a long way to go.