Women’s Media Center Video Spotlights Serious Gender Disparity in Film Industry

This article originally appeared on the Women’s Media Center Blog

New York City: The Women’s Media Center (WMC) released a video it produced during the Sundance Film Festival to spotlight the serious gender disparity in media.  The video highlights stark gender statistics from the news and entertainment industries, and features the team of girl journalists that the Women’s Media Center sent to Park City, Utah to cover the Sundance Film Festival.  Dar Williams’ song “Cool As I Am” underscores the message of the video.

Julie Burton, President of the Women’s Media Center, explained, “We produced the video to highlight the serious gender disparity in the film and news industries.  Most people are surprised to learn that of the top grossing 250 films of 2009, only 16% had women in leadership roles as directors, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors.  Fewer than 25% of Op-Eds are written by women, and only 3% of decision-making positions in the media are held by women.  The goal of this video is to raise awareness of the status of women and girls in media and film and to catalyze a movement for change.”

Gloria Steinem, Co-Founder of the Women’s Media Center, noted, “From watching movies, girls and women come to believe we can only be ornaments, not instruments.  Movies shape our dreams, but they are mostly missing the talents of the female half of the country.”

WATCH HERE: The video starring Progressive Girls’ Voices journalists at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival

Interviews and blog posts from the Women’s Media Center team of girl journalists can be seen at the Women’s Media Center site:  http://www.womensmediacenter.com

The Women’s Media Center’s team of girl journalists blogged, tweeted, and interviewed notable leaders, including Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford, Academy Award Winning Actor and Advocate Geena Davis, Author and Activist Gloria Steinem, Humanitarian and Actor Danny Glover, and several film directors including Jennifer Siebel Newsom (Miss Representation), Tiffany Shlain (Connected), Lynn Hershman Leeson, (!Women Art Revolution), David Weissman (We Were Here).

The Women’s Media Center was founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem to make women visible and powerful in media.

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Women’s Media Center was founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem to positively impact the visibility of women in the media, amplify women’s voices on key issues in the national dialogue, fight sexism and bias against women in the media, and increase professional opportunities for women across all forms of media. Through training, advocacy, and the development of original content, WMC is changing the conversation in the media so that media more accurately represents the perspectives, positions, and priorities of women.

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