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Feds probe discrimination against female Hollywood directors
On the afternoon of Nov. 4, Catherine Hardwicke trekked to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, laptop in tow, to offer testimony for a federal investigation into the lack of female film and television directors. The Twilight and Thirteen helmer had not received a letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as about 50 women have this year. She appeared voluntarily."When I read about it, I reached out because I want to be involved in the change," explains Hardwicke. "This is a historic moment, and we cannot let this slip away. We've got to inspire people to be on the right side of history, to make a change." Despite spending about three hours with federal investigators, during which she described in detail how she lost out on studio directing gigs to male rivals, Hardwicke says she only got about halfway through her story and will return for a second round with lead investigator Marla Stern-Knowlton and her team of agents later in November. "Why is my testimony so long? Because I have some very sad, disappointing, criminal details of slander and libelous and untrue statements that have been made about myself and other women," says Hardwicke. The EEOC is hoping that she is one of many women who step forward in the investigation, which insiders acknowledge is a difficult one because of the secretive nature of Hollywood and the difficulty of proving discrimination in a creative industry governed by subjective choices. In fact, the federal agency tasked with administering and enforcing civil rights laws against workplace discrimination has set up a system so that female directors can report anonymously their own experiences of gender bias without fear of retribution. "Traditionally, the problem has been that women are scared of getting blacklisted," says director Maria Giese (When Saturday Comes), the first woman to offer testimony to the EEOC. "But now, it can be totally anonymous, which makes it a whole new landscape. More women are becoming emboldened to go in." More at the link Posted by: badanov 2015-11-12 |
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