The buzz about this year’s Academy Awards is just about wrapping up and while it seems this was a relatively scandal-free year, to me there was one glaring problem. Where were all the women? There were old white men coming out of the walls of the Kodak Theatre and seldom any women of any age or nationality to be spoken for. When Milla Jovavich showed a photo of the winners from the technical awards held before the Oscars I thought she had wandered into a Republican National Debate. Seeing as women make up half the consumers of media and entertainment, it’s confusing and disappointing to see that the business – or at the least the big winners – is a boy’s club.
The issue of women’s presence at the Oscars has come up before when Kathryn Bigelow won the 2010 Best Director prize, becoming the first female winner. While this is wonderful news, it is extremely sobering to think that it took 80 years for the Oscars to at last give this honor to a woman; it’s even more sobering that Bigelow remains only the second female in history to even be nominated for Best Director, (the first nominee was Sofia Coppola back in 2003). And if 2010 was such a landmark year for women at the Oscars, then why did 31 statues go home with men (counting repeat winners, only in gender-neutral categories) when only 6 were awarded to women? Is 50% of the population only 17% of the talent?
Fast-forward to this year’s ceremonies. Despite our so-called breakthrough, 38 Oscars went to men and 5 Oscars went to women in 2012. Hardly a lady’s night. So far our victories have been minor and incidental; the only way for women to be more involved in the media elite is to prove to the next generation (these old men can’t control things forever), that we are not to be relegated to chick flicks and Sex and the City sequels. There are extremely talented female filmmakers out there who have something to prove in this deeply entrenched, patrimonial system.
As we move into Women’s History Month, I feel more confident about our odds. We’ve come from behind only to excel in several fields. More women are accepted to college than men, particularly at the Ivy League level. More women are accepted to law school than men. A newly released study by Wall Street showed that women’s investment returns outperformed the men’s by 11-18%, making them the new go-to executives and financial planners. I have no doubt in my mind that women are capable of taking the industry by storm and evening out those disturbing award trends, but this issue can no longer escape our attention.
It is unacceptable for this gender inequality to be prevalent and unknowingly applauded on national television in the year 2012. I love movies and I have tremendous respect for all the winners and Hollywood legends that turned up on Sunday night’s broadcast – but I think it’s time to put some old men into retirement. Ladies?