Suggested Readings
Background information for the summit panels. These panel descriptions help inform the conversation for moderators, panelists, and participants:
The historic 15-page letter from the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - U.S. Department of Justice) calling for a federal investigation into Hollywood discrimination against women directors. This was publish in The New Times on May 12, 2015.
“2016 Celluloid Ceiling Report”: A current statistical report from Martha Lauzen on behind-the-scenes employment of women on the top 100, 250, and 500 films of 2016.
“Bias and the Business of Show Business - Employment Discrimination in the ‘Entertainment’ Industry” by Kathleen A. Tarr
https://www.culturalweekly.com/bias-and-the-business-of-show-employment-discrimination-in-the-entertainment-industry/
“2017 Boys Club Behind the Scenes: Using Title VII to Remedy Gender Discrimination in Hollywood” by Samira Paydar
http://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1882&context=student_scholarship
SPECIAL SECTION: Hollywood Under Federal Investigation!
A series of articles that chronicle the current EEOC investigation into discrimination against women directors in Hollywood— how it started and where it is now. May 12, 2015 to present.
1. “Troublemaker” is a short article by Maria Giese in “The Hollywood Reporter” describing the process of taking the case for women directors out of the Directors Guild of America to the ACLU and the EEOC igniting a wide-scale campaign and federal investigation into discrimination against women directors.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/troublemaker-who-launched-hollywoods-eeoc-845829
2. “The New York Times” breaking news of the ALCU letter to the EEOC calling for a federal investigation into discrimination against women directors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/movies/aclu-citing-bias-against-women-wants-inquiry-into-hollywoods-hiring-practices.html
3. The actual 15-page letter from the ACLU to the EEOC calling for an investigation into discrimination against women directors.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/12/movies/document-13filmwomen.html
4. “The Los Angeles Times” report on the ACLU letter calling for the EEOC to investigate discrimination against women directors
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-aclu-gender-discrimination-hollywood-20150513-story.html
5. “The Los Angeles Times” - The federal investigation is on! The EEOC contacts women directors.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-women-directors-discrimination-investigation-20151002-story.html
6. “The Los Angeles Times” - Seven months later, the EEOC ramps up the investigation:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-0512-aclu-women-directors-update-20160509-snap-story.html
7. “The Hollywood Reporter” - How will Trumps presidency affect the EEOC investigation?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-trumps-presidency-may-affect-hollywoods-eeoc-gender-probe-952472
8. “Deadline Hollywood” - Breaking news: the EEOC investigation has filed charges against the six major Hollywood studios and they are currently in settlement talks”:
http://deadline.com/2017/02/hollywood-studios-female-directors-eeoc-investigation-1201912590/
9. “Film Inquiry” - Maria Giese writes about what could happen in the settlement talks between the EEOC and the six major Hollywood studios:
https://www.filminquiry.com/eeoc-v-hollywood-studios/
SPECIAL SECTION: “What Happened to the Female Directors of Hollywood”?? by Carrie Rickey
This brand new concise 5-part series of articles provides a history of women directors in Hollywood from dawn to today. It all started out very well for women directors in Hollywood, but something “disappeared” them. What was it? And how’s the battle to bring them back all the way to 50/50 doing today?
Read the whole series in less than 30 minutes and then meet Carrie here at the Summit!
Part 1: http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_other_43_percent_201702231
Part 2: http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_other_43_percent_part_ii_20170302
Part 3: http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/what_happened_to_the_female_directors_of_hollywood_part_3_20170309
Part 4: http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/what_happened_to_the_female_directors_of_hollywood_part_4_19841999_20170317
Part 5: http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/what_happened_to_the_female_directors_of_hollywood_part_4_19841999_20170317
“Gender Equality Study”: A report for “Directors UK” on career sustainability for directors in the UK.
“Cut Out of the Picture”: A Directors UK campaign for gender equality among directors in the UK film industry.
“1978 EEOC Hollywood Report: Equal Employment Opportunity in the Motion Picture Industry.” This 55-page report requested, among other things, that the industry self-regulate including recommendations that the unions (like the DGA) create diversity agreements and committee to help increase hiring of women and minorities.
“The Global Gender Gap Report - 2016”: For a deep dive, this is an exhaustive report from The World Economic Forum. A “fresh call to action to accelerate progress towards gender equality” and “a fundamental moral case for empowering women: women represent one half of the global population and it is self-evident that they must have equal access to health, education, earning power and political representation.
“2016 Top Markets Report: Media and Entertainment”: For a very deep dive, this is “The 2016 Top Markets Report for Media & Entertainment provides a review of seven global licensing and export markets and two regions across four broad sectors: book publishing, filmed entertainment, music, and video games.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s “Year of the Pussy”: a post-Trump view on women in Hollywood.
SPECIAL INTEREST - “The Original Six” & The DGA-Studio Lawsuit (Court Ruling)
DGA v. Studios – Judge Rymer’s 1985 Ruling (Un-edited)
Starting in 1979 “The Original Six” (six female DGA directors) got the DGA to file a class action lawsuit against two Hollywood studios. This is the complete1985 ruling by Judge Pamela Rymer in the 1983-1985 Class-action case(s) DGA v Warner Brothers, and DGA v. Columbia Pictures
PLEASE NOTE that the case failed when Judge Rymer dismissed the DGA as representative of the “Class” of women and minority directors.
Simply, she disqualified the DGA from leading the class due to “conflict of interest” saying that the union run by it’s dominant white, male membership (who are competing for open-assignment directing jobs) cannot fairly represent women and minority directors who also hope to land those same jobs.
http://www.womendirectorsinhollywood.com/dga-v-studios-judge-rymers-1985-ruling-un-edited/