Authentic representation is a critical step to breaking down systemic barriers in the film industry. Only by highlighting influential role models from diverse backgrounds, can genuine change be made.

Streaming platforms offered more opportunities to female directors than top-grossing films in 2020 and 2021. However, for underrepresented directors, streaming platforms only provided slightly more opportunity across the two years.

Openness is a valuable trait in the filmmaking industry and is observed as a signifier of potential growth. Furthermore, related traits of self-belief and confidence are crucial to project success.

We talk a lot about the inherent and systemic barriers female filmmakers face in the film industry. But what actually are these systemic barriers? The barriers include:

Career progress stalls for female filmmakers, with a 32.4% drop from narrative independent films to top-grossing films for women directors. It is imperative this drop off is addressed for continued long-term growth of women and underrepresented filmmakers in the industry.

"We have to keep encouraging ourselves and one another, and eventually things must get easier for us,” says British director and two time Academy Award nominee Lucy Walker.

A new accessibility scorecard will be introduced at film festivals. The initiative has been developed by filmmaker Cassidy Dimon, in partnership with Film Festival Alliance and FWD-Doc, a collective of documentary filmmakers with disabilities.

The steps outlined below outline how the industry can break down barriers and provide equal opportunity for underrepresented filmmakers. For more comprehensive information on the path forward, see Women in Film's 'Women Entrepreneurs in the Screen Industries' report.

As actress, producer and director of #Horror Tara Subkoff states, it's important to continue to highlight and represent female voices both in front and behind the camera.

Underrepresented female directors earn the highest average and midpoint Metacritic scores of any group. Yet, they are least hired. The issue is systemic, unaddressed bias that continues to disadvantage female filmmakers despite a proven track record of high scoring films.

It takes projects with female screenwriters 406 days longer than male screenwriters to progress from first development funding to release. This number decreases to 138 days for female directors.

Eirini Alligiannis, winner of the Best Female Director at the Carpe Diem Film Festival, highlights the need for more platforms to support female filmmakers in a meaningful and impactful way.

Film festivals continue to lag behind in gender parity. We are determined to continue to hold those with power and influence in the film industry to account. The prevalence of gender disparity at film festivals is inexcusable.

Following research by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, survey data of people working in the UK's screen industry revealed that 61% of those working in key creative roles are from privileged backgrounds.

War Pony director Riley Keough recently won the Camera D'Or prize for first time filmmakers at Cannes. Her story and experience continues to highlight the financing inequity and discrimination towards female filmmakers throughout the world.

In 2020 The Academy announced diversity standards that will come into effect in 2024. The new guidelines aren't as noteworthy as they may seem as most best-picture contenders wouldn't even have to amend current practices under the new guidelines.

Recent data from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reveals the percent of directors from underrepresented demographics across 1,338 films by distributor.

American filmmaker Jennifer Phang on the need to cultivate a culture of support amongst female filmmakers:

According to The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film's 'Indie Women in a Pandemic Year' report, women working in behind-the-scenes roles on narrative features in 2020-2021:

The problem: 👉 Investors ask female entrepreneurs prevention-focused questions, compared to promotion-focused questions they ask males. 👉 The questions produce varying response, affecting perception 👉 This leads to female-led projects being considered a higher financial risk