The movie industry is sexist, and sexual harassment in studios is rife

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/22/movie-industry-sexist-sexual-harassment-studios-rife

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Research suggesting that the film industry is institutionally sexist is not news to me. I spent 10 years working in the UK industry, ending up as a third assistant director on multimillion-dollar feature films. In my experience, the larger the film's budget (and its likelihood of being a box office hit), the fewer women you will find behind the scenes. This is because of widespread sexism, discriminatory hiring practices in certain departments, and also the nepotistic old boys' network, whereby you only get a job because you are the son, brother, nephew or cousin of another man in the industry.

However, it is not only sexism that contributes to the lack of women: some of it is due to blatant sexual harassment too. I have had my breasts groped by a rigger, my arse grabbed by a stuntman, and been explicitly propositioned by a Hollywood actor. I was subjected to daily taunts about my body and had to put up with constant innuendo. It was undermining and made me consider, more than once, quitting my job.

On every studio lot I've worked on, there were equal opportunities posters about sexism, racism or discrimination on the production. Once, I asked what would happen if I reported the sexual harassment that I had experienced. "You'd probably win some money in court," I was told, "but you'll never work again."

The conclusions of this research are depressing. Female crewmembers have decreased between 1994 (22.7%) and 2013 (21.8%). The jobs performed by women have become more polarised. In the areas traditionally seen as more female (art, costume and makeup), the percentage of women has increased, whereas in the more technical fields (editing and visual effects) it has fallen. The three most significant creative roles – writer, producer and director – have all seen the percentage of women fall; in 2013, fewer than 2% of directors were female.

The numbers highlight an industry-wide issue about the lack of female crew, but they also raise further questions: with discrimination so deeply embedded within the industry and sexism so institutionalised, it is arguable that the final product also reflects this world-view. Perhaps if we had more equality behind the scenes, we might start to see an improvement in the quality of the films we see, too.