Action Alert | Action! Which Awards List Made Us Jolly?
With conference season slowing down, we’re using the GenderAvenger tally on best-of and nomination lists to see who makes us jolly and who might be getting coal this year!
This week we looked at the gender breakdown of directors for movies nominated in every category of the Gotham Awards and the People’s Choice Awards. Why directors? Film directors maintain a film’s creative vision from pre-production through the final edit process. Directors shape the way we experience a movie, a character, or a scene. 38% of indie and documentary films are directed by women. And women represented 16% of directors working on the 100 highest-grossing films in 2020. Although the film industry celebrates these improvements, these numbers are kind of bleak when women made up 50% of moviegoers during the 2019-2020 season. We need women in charge in the filmmaking industry.
The Nice-ish List: 2021 Gotham Awards
This year marks the 31st annual Gotham Awards, a key stop in awards season, particularly for lower-budget indie fare, as nominees must have a film budget of 35 million or less. The Gotham Awards made GenderAvenger’s nice-ish list because of the gender breakdown of nominated directors and actors - 40 women and 39 men. We were also impressed that categories like Outstanding Lead Performance, Breakthrough Performance, and Outstanding Supporting Performance were all gender-neutral categories, with eight men and 14 women nominated.
When we looked at the gender breakdown of the directors for all films nominated - 41% women and 17% women of color, the Gotham Awards is just above the industry standard (38%) but does not earn a GA Stamp of Approval. However, we appreciate how much effort went into these nominations and we applaud the Gotham Awards for this level of inclusion in an industry that needs a lot of work
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The Naughty-ish List: People’s Choice Awards 2021
The People’s Choice Awards have been held since 1975 and are a chance for movie creators and movie watchers alike to cast votes for their favorite flicks of the year. True democracy ya’ll.
This year the People’s Choice Awards, unfortunately, falls on the naughty-ish list. Of the 30 movies nominated this year across five categories, only 3 of the movies had women directors with one being a woman of color! What strikes us is that the responsibility of the vote falls to EVERYONE.
As moviegoers we can do better! BUT… moviegoers have so few choices when it comes to top-grossing movies directed by women. It’s larger than nominations and hopefully, we’ll continue to see the upward trend of women directing blockbuster films
Community Action - Let’s Tally!
The GenderAvenger Tally has many uses! Use it at conferences, on that list you saw in your favorite magazine, in your weekly meeting, while you’re watching the Oscars… the possibilities are endless!
This month the 10th annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list was released. Although there were a lot of great stats, Forbes acknowledged that gender parity slipped from an all-time high in 2021 to 38% women for the 2022 year. We appreciate when organizations publicly share their growth.
Help us investigate which industries on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list need more women represented!
Light the Flame — Inspired Resources and Reads
How are other people helping women claim their place at the table, at the mic, behind the camera, or in other places of power and influence? We hope that this week’s reads empower and inspire your advocacy:
Last week we discussed the pipelines for women in the tech industry and how low numbers in an industry influence who speaks at conferences. EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age works to address this issue. Each year The Equals in Tech Awards recognize organizations and individuals working to help girls and women gain equal internet access, digital skills, and opportunities in the tech industry. Read more about their winners and how you can get involved with EQUALS Global Partnership.
Who is advocating for women in prison? A new Guardian article highlights how women in prison are ignored by feminist groups because they are “less marketable”. Read the full article, Women in prison falling through gaps in feminist funding, report finds.
This Wall Street Journal article takes a positive look at what’s possible for gender equality and the future of work. How the Pandemic Could Make the Future Brighter for Women in the Workplace.
*Listen Up: Hello Monday podcast host, Jessi Hempel, held a dynamic conversation with GenderAvenger co-founder, Gina Glantz, and Shelley Zalis CEO and founder of The Female Quotient. Read Hempel’s LinkedIn write-up and find the link to the episode, What can one person do? More than you can imagine.
We’ve got BIG plans for 2022 and we’d love your support to ensure that women’s voices are counted!
P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been participating in #GATallyTuesday! Look out for a reminder on social media each Tuesday to share your tallies!
📣🚨 #GATally can tally more than conferences! This week we tally best-of lists for directors. 🎬 #GothamAwards has our hearts ablaze, while #PCAs leave us a little cold. Let’s keep pushing for women and women of color BEHIND the camera! #GenderAvenger