Current Connection 3.1

Hollywood is a place full of limelight, though it seems women have a hard time getting noticed. Female filmmakers have a supremely difficult time being approved for big budget films. Not to say that it has never happened before, but even so it's a rarity. An article, "Gender Inequality in Film: In Infographic Form"
by "IndieWire", a website dedicated to all things relative in the film industry, features eye popping info-graphics on the inequalities of the film industry.

To start, directing films is not the only place where there is an imbalance in the workplace for women. As shown in an info-graphic displaying information on "Percentages of women employed behind the scenes," on the intervals of 1998, 2006, 2011, and 2012; along with "Percentages of women and men employed behind the scenes" as a comparison. Reading the chart, off the bat, there is a notable difference. Eyes dropping to the near lone blue bar at the bottom of the graph, only "2%" of women in the film industry hold employment as cinematographers. There is incredible injustice in viewing just how little red appears on this in this info-graphic. From looking at the left side of the chart, the side depicting strictly women, shows growth in areas; though in comparison the data is a bit disappointing.

Of course, maintaining a highly respected position in this cut-throat business must be an uphill battle considering how women are displayed in film. The very first demographic used in the article states, "Roughly a third of female speaking characters are shown in sexually revealing attire or partially naked." Knowing when it comes to the professional world, presentation is very important. The game seems to be rigged; the traps sets to bring in crowds, only to send them home empty handed. No level of professionalism will make it any easier for women to obtain their desired job, when their preferred workforce generalizes the female gender in such an unprofessional manner.

Consequently, with all the bias and inappropriate depictions of women there is a dramatic salary gap. According to an info-graphic used in the article, "Angelina Jolie, made $33 Million, roughly the same amount as the two lowest-ranked men." Also, "Of the 16 biggest paychecks earned by actors per film, not a single one was earned by a female actor," making very little sense considering that many of the most recent popular films sport female main characters. Given this data, one could infer, The Hunger Games, Woody Harrelson who plays Haymitch Abernathy, made a larger salary that Jennifer Lawrence who was the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Look at who are at the two ends of the scale, Robert Downy Jr. with $75 million and Julia Roberts and Mila Kunis tied with $11 million, this is the gap in salary mentioned earlier. Does that look fair?

Now, inequality is not just a major issue in the film industry, but in areas such as the military as well. Women may find it more difficult to get promoted in the military because a majority of leadership positions are awarded to men. Also there are parts of the military that women have yet to venture because of rigid stereotypes and reprogrammed gender role expectations. The military is already difficult enough for some, but god forbid someone who's a homosexual, female or male, who wants to protect their home have to undergo even more stereotypes and misconceptions. Though, with the repeal of "Don't ask, Don't tell," the military is moving forward in some aspects, but are far from true equality.

In brief, the stereotypes of women affect many parts of the workforce, though in film women are beginning to make great names for themselves. Slowly but surely the film industry is making its way towards equality in the workplace.