candidate in the SAC department, said she thinks part of the problem is the lack of recognition for women who are working in other creative positions.

“I think we live in a culture where so much of that credit goes to the director,” Ralko said. “I think we have to challenge that idea.”

According to Ralko, small industry changes such as including more names in the top credits or celebrating creative work more visibly at events like the Academy Awards can open up more space for female recognition in film.

“For example, Martin Scorsese is one of these pantheon directors, and he’s worked with the same editor for almost all of his films,” Ralko said.

She paused, trying to recall her name. She reached over to her computer for help. A quick Google search pulled up the name Thelma Schoonmaker.

“See?” she said. “Even though I try to be so conscious of these things, I remember Martin Scorsese’s name and I forget his editor’s name. That woman has had her hand on every single frame of every single movie that Scorsese made. And I couldn’t even remember her name.”

It’s not uncommon for women to be relegated to positions in which they don’t receive much recognition in fields beyond film. Just think about how significantly female legislative aids outnumber female legislators.

“We’re overly critical of female leaders in general,” Lyon said.

“Female ownership of media companies is key to opening doors for women on set and in the boardrooms of film companies. Women can and will open doors to other women. We need money to make that happen.”
- Susan Cartsonis, New York Times, Aug. 14, 2012

The Sundance study found that when women are behind the camera as directors or producers, the number of women hired to be on the crew for the other content-creator positions goes up significantly. But there are obstacles getting women into these lead positions.

Libresco pointed to some of the key explanations that the report helped uncover. One of these is gendered financial barriers.

Independent narrative film relies on a funding structure that is primarily run by men, and these gendered finance obstacles are certainly seen in Hollywood as well.

As Gellman explained, the multi-billion-dollar business model of big cinema harms women.

“Women, right now, are a risk,” Gellman said. “Because people are taking on established professionals who, just by the history of the years, have more experience, and you’re more apt to give someone a hundred-million dollars to make a movie with more experience.”

Financial barriers help explain why, in many ways, the television industry seems more open to women than film. Female showrunners are much more common than female directors. In addition to Dunham, women like Tina Fey, Shonda Rhimes and Elizabeth Meriwether have helped pave the way for female showrunners. But TV typically involves less money, so there’s more room for experimentation and risk.

“The stakes are lower,” Flinn said.

She added that women on television, like Fey, Amy Poehler and Sarah Silverman, have helped break the glass ceiling for women in TV comedy.

“That was a genre that was so masculine,” Flinn said. “If you look at standup, it’s still really male-dominated. So, maybe the best thing to look forward to is more cracks in the ceiling.”

But when it comes to filmmaking, she doesn’t think the ceiling is anywhere near being approached.

“You’ve said that filmmaking for you is not about breaking gender roles, but when you make a film that allows your character to disobey the conventions of Hollywood, you’ve done more for women in cinema than you take credit for.”
- Jessica Chastain to Kathryn Bigelow, Golden Globe Awards, Jan. 13, 2013

Enforcing gender roles on set goes hand-in-hand with enforcing gender roles onscreen.