Inclusion in the Director’s Chair

STACY L. SMITH METACRITIC SCORES FOR UNDERREPRESENTED DIRECTORS Median and average Metacritic score across 1,300 films from 2007 to 2019 54.2 54.9 54 THE MIDPOINT SCORE IS THE SAME FOR FILMS BY WHITE AND UNDERREPRESENTED DIRECTORS Films by Films by White Directors UR Directors (average) (average) HOLLYWOOD’S IMAGE OF A FEMALE DIRECTOR IS A WHITE WOMAN Race/ethnicity of 57 individual female directo [...] STACY L. SMITH Annenberg Inclusion Initiative -- 1 Inclusion in the Director's Chair: Analysis of Director Gender and Race/Ethnicity Across 1,300 Top Films from 2007 to 2019 Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Each year, we examine the gender and race/ethnicity of directors working across the 100 top fictional films theatrically released in the U. S. A total of 1,300 of the most popular movies were inc [...] The ratio of white male directors to underrepresented female directors was 92 to 1. Yet, this group of women represents 20% of the U. S. population. [...] Katherine Pieper Each year, we examine the gender and race/ethnicity of directors working across the 100 top fictional films theatrically released in the U. S.1 A total of 1,300 of the most popular movies were included in the analysis, from 2007 to 2019.2 We focused on the top leadership position in film production, as the director is involved in not only working with above the line talent (e.g., [...] In the film industry, like many other sectors of employment, leadership can be both gendered and racialized in ways that limit access and opportunity for women and/or people of color.3 In this research brief, we overview the 2019 findings from the 100 top films first followed by a comparison to the 100 top films of 2018 and then 2007.