One of the biggest excuses/reasons people have for not hiring a good balance of women in the entertainment industry is that they don’t know where to find them/they don’t have the experience. This is a semi valid excuse/reason. I’ve used it myself. When you need a gaffer tomorrow and none of the three guys available is a woman then you just use the three guys (shout out to my dude gaffers, you’re awesome) but that happens enough times and you end up with an all male crew. It is the path of least resistance.
One of the best ways to fix this is to become a member of a more diverse community. Where can we find those communities? The Internet is a good start. The issue of underrepresentation of women in film and television has started to get a lot of attention. With that attention comes more people trying to fix the problem.
Here is a little jumping off point for you to do some research and social media following of your own so when it comes time for you to hire (or recommend) a director, or a gaffer, or a writer, you have some women in your stable. I didn’t include general feminist sites or individuals in this list because it would be a mile long. These are just the organizations and media hubs that focus on women in entertainment that I know of. I’m sure I’m missing some great examples and I’d love to hear about your favorite resources in the comments.
- The Alliance for Women In Media puts on the Gracie awards and promotes the entry and advancement of women in media.
- Bitch Flicks is a film and media website that is full of great articles and resources. They also do regular #chats on twitter.
- For information on the representation of women in film and television check out San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.
- Chicks Who Script is a new podcast about movies. Here is their twitter.
- The Director List is maintained by Destri A Martino and is a giant list of female directors with TV and Film experience. Follow on twitter for some great information.
- The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media does research and creates educational curricula on being savvy consumers of media.
- There are many film festivals that focus on work by women. Check out The International Women’s Film Festival Network to start your research.
- The Kilroys are a group of playwrights and producers who are pushing new work by female playwrights. If you are in a theatre company this is your window to new works by women. Here is their twitter.
- The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative connects female playwrights with other theatre artists and the greater community of Los Angeles. They have lots of events. Follow their twitter.
- Obviously you’re reading a great resource right now! Follow Ms. In The Biz on twitter.
- Women, Action and the Media is dedicated to gender justice in the media. Follow them on twitter to keep up on issues that touch everyone in entertainment.
- The Seattle International Film Festival is putting on a Women in Cinema Lineup
- Women In Film is a professional organization that has mentoring and lectures and breakfast meetings and I’ve been meaning to join forever despite the fact that they have a golf fundraiser. Here is the twitter for their LA branch.
- Women In Media connect and support women in media. They also have a scholarship to LA Film School.
- Here is the twitter for Women of the Writers Guild of America West. Lots of information and great links about women writers.