It's really about realizing we can own a piece of each other's successes, and in so doing, learn to become successful ourselves. Lois Shelton, Foxglove Films         New study, finds that women continue to lose ground in key above-the-line film positions. By Tatiana Siegel Published June 10, 2005 In the wake of Gail Berman's ascension to the top reaches of Paramount Pictures' food chain, an April 24 New York Times article boldly proclaimed that Berman and other female studio brass “have finally buried the notion that Hollywood is a man's world.” While women continue to make progress in the executive ranks of major studios, San Diego State University professor Martha Lauzen insists that industrywide gender equality is still elusive. “It's very easy to be misled by a few high-profile cases”, says Lauzen, author of “The Celluloid Ceiling”, an annual study assessing women's behind-the-scenes cinematic contributions. The professor, who has analyzed female labor trends in showbiz for more than a decade, instead paints a bleak picture for women in five key areas of filmmaking. Using the 250 top-domestic-grossing films in 2004 as her test sample, Lauzen and her research team found that the percentage of women working as directors, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors dropped from 17% in 2003 to 16% last year. While a 1% decrease might not seem shocking, it is part of a four-year slide, from a high of 19% in 2001. Female helmers, in particular, took the biggest hit, slipping from 11% in 2000 to a paltry 5% last year. “The overall numbers are cause for concern”, says Lauzen, who will publish a companion primetime TV report in August. “The drop in women directors is alarming.” In fact, the 2004 numbers are stagnant or down in most categories when compared with 2000 figures. The share of female writers fell from 14% to 12% and editors from 19% to 16%. Producers were stagnant at 24% in both 2000 and 2004. The two bright spots were cinematographers, up from 2% in 2000 to 3% in 2004, and executive producers, up from 16% in 2000 to 19% in 2004. When it comes to assigning blame, the social scientist and self-described media junkie points to a culture of silence within the industry. “What I'm seeing these days is a lot of denial about the current situation for women in Hollywood and an unwillingness to acknowledge the scope and the depth of the problem”, Lauzen says. “Even as recently as 2001, some of the more high-profile individuals and organizations in the business were more willing to speak out on behalf of women. I have noticed over the past few years an increasing reluctance to speak frankly about the issue.” While Lauzen insists there are no simple solutions, she says it is important to be skeptical of headlines heralding Tinseltown's gender revolution. “Nothing would make me happier”, she says. “But the media are not telling the real story.”