ACLU Statement on Federal Probe of Gender Discrimination in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES — A year ago, the ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project asked the federal and California governments to investigate blatant and rampant discrimination against women directors in the film and television industries. The request was made after an ACLU investigation revealed an industry-wide pattern of gender bias and stereotyping that all but excluded women from directorial roles.

Melissa Goodman, director of the LGBTQ, Gender and Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU of Southern California, had this comment:

“ACLU SoCal and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project are pleased that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs gave careful consideration to our findings and responded by launching a wide-ranging and well-resourced investigation into the industry’s hiring practices. We are encouraged by the scope of the government’s process and are hopeful that the government will be moving to a more targeted phase.

“In the year since our report was released, there has been much lip-service paid to furthering opportunities for women, but few definitive steps and no serious movement in the number of women directors hired. We are confident that the government will corroborate our work and push industry leaders to address the ongoing violations of the legal and civil rights of these directors and of all women in the film and television industries.”