Much has been said lately about sexism in Hollywood. There are numerous reports detailing the shockingly few female film leads on and off camera. And prominent women in film from Ava DuVernay to Jennifer Lawrence have spoken out over the last year about discrimination in the industry.
It appears that US officials are taking these claims seriously. The American Civil Liberties Union said on Wednesday (May 11) that two US agencies have launched “a wide-ranging and well-resourced investigation” into Hollywood’s hiring practices.
A year ago to the day, the civil-rights group sent a letter to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, along with the US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and California’s state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, detailing the “widespread exclusion of women directors from employment” in TV and film. It said that women made up less than 2% of directors of the top 100 grossing films in 2014, among other startling statistics, and asked the agencies to investigate systemic failures in the industry.
In an update today, the ACLU said the EEOC and the Labor Department’s federal contract compliance office were probing the issue. The EEOC reportedly asked to meet with fifty prominent female film directors last October, as part of the investigation.
Melissa Goodman at the ACLU of Southern California said in a statement that the group was “encouraged” by the scope of the investigation and “hopeful that the government will be moving to a more targeted phase.”
A spokeswoman for the EEOC said the agency received the ACLU’s letter and spoke to the group about its findings. But she could not confirm that the agency was probing the matter. “Federal law does not permit EEOC to confirm or deny the existence of a charge,” she said, “and it would be inappropriate to comment on any potential or ongoing enforcement actions.”
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While Hollywood has made some progress balancing the gender scales on screen (mostly for white women), women—as well as minorities regardless of gender—are still gravely underrepresented behind the camera.