Hollywood continues to be not as inclusive as it likes to say it is. While 2023 had notable films from Greta Gerwig (Barbie), Elizabeth Banks (Cocaine Bear), Emma Tammi (Five Nights at Freddy’s), and Emerald Fennell (Saltburn), a new study has found the year was lower than previous years in having women directors. Numbers for other positions, such as writers, cinematographers, editors, and more, also fell short as Hollywood continued to give more opportunities to men.
Behind the Study of Women Directors in 2023 Not Getting Hired as Much as Men
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University examined the top 250 movies from 2015 to 2023. The published data showed a total of 22% of women in behind-the-scenes positions. This is a 2% decline in women taking on positions like directors, executive producers, editors, and writers. For the top 100 movies, it was 21%, a 1% decrease from 2022.
When it comes to women directors specifically, the study showed they accounted for 16% of the filmmakers who broke into the top 250 movies. That number is down 2% from 2022’s 18%. For the top 100, it went up from 11% in 2022 to 14%.
Not only did the study find that the industry hired fewer women directors, but it also revealed that other off-camera positions were emptier. Out of the top 250 movies in 2023, 6% had women cinematographers, 14% had a woman composer, 26% had women writers, and 28% had a woman editor.
There is a misconception that these films are received more poorly than their counterparts. Published today, USC’s Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative found that not to be true. While there is an overwhelming amount of men compared to women being hired as directors, this USC study found that Metacritic scores between the two demographics are not much different. From 2007 to 2022, the average score for male directors was 55, and the average for women was 57.8.
While being down overall, whether it was Barbie‘s box office domination or award buzzy films, some of the year’s most notable films were helmed by women. Early in the year, Cocaine Bear brought the memes to become a viral sensation on social media due to its absurd premise. Meanwhile, Celine Song (Past Lives) and Sofia Coppola (Priscella) brought attention to the indie scene that usually receives lots of love at major award shows.
