The movie industry has always been unequal, riding on the back of sexism from its first films to today. The years 2013 and 2014 were no different—not only were women portrayed less in film than men, but less women were hired in the film industry as a whole. In a world where sexism is generally considered nonexistent, it is easy to see the actual disparity when the numbers are presented.

In 2013, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” was the top grossing film of the year, which may not seem like a big deal: that is, until you realize that the last time a film featuring a lead female was back in 1965 with “The Sound of Music.” That is almost a fifty year gap. This fact could easily be explained away as people enjoy male storylines more on the silver screen, but such a statement ignores all other films featuring female leads that have succeeded. Because 2013 saw such a drastic increase in women in leading roles in films, Hollywood must be taking notice of this inequality. The top grossing films with female leads in 2013 were “Catching Fire,” “Frozen” and “Gravity,” while out of the current top 10 grossing films of 2014, only “Divergent” makes the cut. The rest of 2014 looks to be promising on the female front though with the upcoming release of “Maleficent,” “The Fault in Our Stars” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part One.”
Behind the scenes, the situation is far more dire, as could be easily seen by taking a quick look at Academy Award winners: In 2013, 140 nominees were men, while only 35 nominees were women. A contrast is noticed by watching the credits of any film; currently, there is a ratio of 5:1 for men working on films compared to women. The statistics are even starker when comparing percentages of sexes for directors, writers and cinematographers. Ninety-one percent of directors are male, as are 85 percent of writers and a shocking 98 percent are cinematographers.
Sadly, though there has been a marked increase in overall presentation of women in films since the beginnings of film, there has also been a drastic increase in violence, especially sexual, committed against women in films, as well as an increase in female nudity. This is a struggling trend that is also apparent in today’s TV shows. In the top 500 films between 2007 and 2012, 28 percent of women wore revealing clothes, while 26 percent of them got partially naked (only nine percent of men undress, in comparison).

While there are improvements (2012 saw a four percent increase in female directors), there are still many changes to be made. Cate Blanchett, who won the Best Actress Academy Award for “Blue Jasmine,” said, “Those in the industry who are foolishly clinging to the idea that female films with women in the center are niche experiences [sic]. They are not … Audiences want to see them.”
Those in the film industry need to recognize the prominent changes that need to be made, just as consumers do. By actively choosing to go to movies that feature female actors, directors or other cast or crew members, patrons can work to help redefine this male-dominated industry. Yet just as men can help women become more prominent, so can women help themselves, which is a sentiment echoed in the feminist manifesto “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg. “Women need to shift from thinking ‘I’m not ready to do that’ to thinking ‘I want to do that—and I’ll learn by doing it.’”