Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media SmartBrief

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February 21, 2013

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Working to create positive images of girls and women in media and entertainment

Gender In Media

At Solve for X, Davis talks gender in media

Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis spoke about gender equality and her effort to improve the media portrayal of women and girls at Solve for X, which aims to help solve global problems. For some time now, female actors have faced narrow choices in the roles available to them in Hollywood, while children experienced limited exposure to female characters as role models, Davis said. YouTube (2/11)

Independent films may pave way for more female Hollywood directors
On the independent film circuit, female directors are becoming more commonplace -- half of this year's entries in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category were director by women. Bringing a film to Sundance has already become a proven way to help women break into Hollywood directing, according to a 2010 USC Annenberg study, of the 4.4% of women who were behind the camera for top movie studio films over the past 11 years, 41.5% of these directors were backed by the Sundance Institute's programs or had films appear at the Sundance festival. The Atlantic online (2/21)

Other News

To the Academy: Consider the women directors
IndieWire.com/Women And Hollywood (2/20)

Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" celebrates its 50th anniversary
United Press International/Blog (2/19)

Trends & Insights

Harvard examines why so few women are in the boardroom
A new class at Harvard Business School examines the low number of women on corporate boards with an emphasis on how to fix the problem. One strategy, says Boris Groysberg, the professor who created the class, is for women to establish more relationships with clients, sources, suppliers and others outside the organization for which they work. Bloomberg Businessweek/Getting In blog (2/14)

Female business owners make their pitch in Women 2.0 competition
Ten women entrepreneurs participated in a pitch competition to attract attention from investors at a recent Women 2.0 conference. Angaza Design, a provider of solar energy to developing countries, took the top prize. Other entrants included Maker's Row, which helps designers and manufacturers connect, and Greengar Studios, which has developed a note-taking app. Inc. online (free registration) (2/15)

Ideas in Action

One Billion Rising aims to stamp out violence against women, girls
Eliminating violence against women and girls around the world is a top priority for the One Billion Rising campaign. On Valentine's Day, several cities around the world played host to music rallies and dance performance to bring attention to this cause. The Huffington Post/The Blog (2/20), National Public Radio (2/15)

Half the Sky Movement: The Game may foster social change
A Facebook game scheduled to be introduced next month will promote awareness of issues affecting women and girls, including child prostitution and female genital mutilation. The three-year undertaking, Half the Sky Movement: The Game, is based on a book and allows players to help a female character by donating virtual goods to nonprofits including the United Nations Foundation. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (2/17)

Other News

Indonesian women make themselves heard via social media
ABC News/The Associated Press (2/18)

Female monster-truck driver looks to break barriers for girls in the sport
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (2/14)

SmartQuote

We deceive ourselves when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it far more."

--Anne Sophie Swetchine,
Russian mystic

About Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Six years ago, while watching children's entertainment with her young daughter, Academy Award winner Geena Davis noticed a remarkable imbalance in the ratio of male to female characters. From that small starting point, Davis commissioned the largest research study ever undertaken on gender in children's entertainment. The research showed that in the top-grossing G-rated films, there were three male characters for every one female - a statistic that still has not improved. The Institute is the leading resource for gender in media research, trends and education for the entertainment industry and the public. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and See Jane are a project of Community Partners.

About See Jane

See Jane is a program of the Institute that utilizes research, education and advocacy to engage the entertainment industry and recognize the need for gender balance and varied portrayals of females and male characters into movies, TV, and other media aimed at children 11 and under. We work cooperatively and collaboratively with entertainment creators to encourage them to be leaders in creating positive change.

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Madeline Di Nonno
Executive Director


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