Women's stories stand out in Oscars race, but Hollywood lagging in gender parity | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
May 29, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Banking
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2025
Women's stories stand out in Oscars race, but Hollywood lagging in gender parity

Splash

Reuters
08 March, 2023, 09:25 am
Last modified: 08 March, 2023, 09:48 am

Related News

  • Cate Blanchett shows Palestinian Solidarity with gown on Cannes Red Carpet
  • Gal Gadot, Chadwick Boseman, Michelle Yeoh get stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Michelle Yeoh to return as Emperor Philippa Georgiou in new 'Star Trek' movie
  • Michelle Yeoh becomes first Asian to win best actress at Oscars
  • Michelle Yeoh may have broken Academy regulations

Women's stories stand out in Oscars race, but Hollywood lagging in gender parity

Reuters
08 March, 2023, 09:25 am
Last modified: 08 March, 2023, 09:48 am
Photo: Collected
Photo: Collected

Michelle Yeoh battles her way through a multiverse, Angela Bassett leads a grieving nation at war, and Cate Blanchett deviously manipulates members of a world-class orchestra.

Wide-ranging stories led by female actors fill the list of movies vying for Academy Awards on Sunday, reflecting gains in an industry that has long relegated women to secondary roles in the shadow of male heroes.

"It's such an extraordinary year for women," "Tar" actress Blanchett said at last month's British Film Academy Awards (BAFTAs).

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"And we know we are just the tip of the iceberg," she added. "Every year, there's idiosyncratic, remarkable performances that just break down the myth that women's experience is monolithic."

"Tar" is competing for the prestigious best picture prize with front-runner "Everything Everywhere All at Once," a kung fu adventure starring Yeoh as the protagonist tasked with saving the world.

"Women Talking," about Mennonite women grappling with sexual assaults in their community, also made the best picture field.

In the supporting actress race, Angela Bassett is in the running for playing Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," a Marvel superhero flick that put female warriors at the forefront.

Still, Hollywood remains far from a place of gender parity.

"Women are making progress in certain areas on screen," said UCLA sociologist Darnell Hunt, co-author of an annual Hollywood diversity report. But, Hunt added, they "have a long way to go, particularly behind the scenes."

In 2017, public revelations of sexual misconduct by producer Harvey Weinstein, which supercharged the #MeToo movement and was chronicled in last fall's movie "She Said," prompted women to speak out about their lack of power in Hollywood and demand equality given that they make up roughly half of the overall U.S. population. Data shows some improvement.

Women accounted for 47.2% of leading roles in the top theatrical and streaming films in 2021, UCLA researchers found. That was an increase from 32.9% in 2017.

But among directors - the most powerful role on a movie set - just 21.8% were women in 2021. It was 12.6% in 2017. Just three women have won the Oscar for best director in the awards' 94-year history, and none were nominated this year, overlooking Sarah Polley of "Women Talking" and Gina Prince-Blythewood of "The Woman King."

'DEFINITELY TAKING STEPS FORWARD'
The ranks of executives who greenlight films and set budgets also lean heavily male, according to UCLA data from 2020. Researchers found 82% of film studio chief executives were men, as were 80% of the senior management teams just below the CEO level.

"It's not equitable," "Black Panther" star and 2014 Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o said of the number of women running studios. "It's about fighting for more seats at the table, the leadership table, to ensure that that becomes the norm."

To promote gender parity, advocates created the ReFrame stamp, a certification that productions could use to show that they hired women in at least half of the key roles on screen and behind the camera.

In 2022, 29 of the top 100-grossing movies in the U.S. and Canada met that criteria.

"Tar" director Todd Field said he hoped Hollywood was moving beyond past attitudes about gender. A decade ago, he said he was told he could get a bigger budget for a film he was pitching if it starred a man.

"There's a great tradition of strong female characters and strong female leads in movie history, mainly in the 1950s," Field said. "Why that shifted at any point, I'm not sure of."

"The idea that we're sort of leaving this area behind and able to work with a much more broad view of humanity, I think is a healthy thing," he added.

More films centered on women are slated to reach cinemas in the coming months. They include "The Marvels," a superhero film with three female leads; an adaptation of coming-of-age novel "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," and a new take on the iconic Barbie doll from Oscar-nominated director Greta Gerwig.

"We are definitely taking steps forward and we have to keep that," said Yeoh, adding that women still need to press for opportunities. Older women, especially, must fight the idea that they are past their prime, she said.

"We need to rewrite all that nonsense," the 60-year-old said, "and I'm here to do it."

Michelle Yeoh / Angela Bassett / Cate Blanchett

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Representational Photo: Collected
    Tax gap between listed and non-listed firms may widen to 7.5% 
  • Incessant raining since this morning (29 May) caused intense traffic congestion on almost all the streets in the capital. The photo was taken from Tejgaon Industrial Area. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
    Commuters suffer as rain causes intense traffic congestion on city roads
  • Photo: Courtesy
    New notes featuring 'historic, archaeological structures of Bangladesh' to be circulated from 1 June

MOST VIEWED

  • Google Pay. Photo: Collected
    Google Pay likely coming to Bangladesh soon
  • IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
    IFIC Bank receives Tk6,000 cr in new deposits in six months
  • Dhaka areas at a gridlock on Wednesday, 28 May 2025. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
    BNP, Jamaat rallies: Traffic clogs Dhaka roads, including Motijheel, Paltan, Dainik Bangla intersection
  • Abdul Awal Mintoo, chairman of National Bank Limited. Sketch: TBS
    'Regulatory support must for National Bank to restore depositors' confidence'
  • Mohammad Abdul Mannan, chairman FSIB Ltd. Sketch: TBS
    FSIB to bounce back soon
  • Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid, managing director and CEO, UCB. Sketch: TBS
    Customers’ trust and confidence fueling deposit growth at UCB

Related News

  • Cate Blanchett shows Palestinian Solidarity with gown on Cannes Red Carpet
  • Gal Gadot, Chadwick Boseman, Michelle Yeoh get stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Michelle Yeoh to return as Emperor Philippa Georgiou in new 'Star Trek' movie
  • Michelle Yeoh becomes first Asian to win best actress at Oscars
  • Michelle Yeoh may have broken Academy regulations

Features

In recent years, the Gor-e-Shaheed Eidgah has emerged as a strong contender for the crown of the biggest Eid congregation in the country, having hosted 600,000 worshippers in 2017. Photo: TBS

Gor-e-Shaheed Boro Maath: The heart of Dinajpur

2d | Panorama
The Hili Land Port, officially opened in 1997 but with trade roots stretching back to before Partition, has grown into a cornerstone of bilateral commerce.

Dhaka-Delhi tensions ripple across Hili’s markets and livelihoods

3d | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Desk goals: Affordable ways to elevate your study setup

3d | Brands
Built on a diamond-type frame, the Hornet 2.0 is agile but grounded. PHOTO: Asif Chowdhury

Honda Hornet 2.0: Same spirit, upgraded sting

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Politics should be done openly, not secretly, in every educational institution

Politics should be done openly, not secretly, in every educational institution

27m | TBS Today
Elon Musk steps down as head of DOGE under Trump administration

Elon Musk steps down as head of DOGE under Trump administration

1h | TBS World
Low Pressure over the Bay of Bengal, Signal No. 3 Issued for Sea Ports

Low Pressure over the Bay of Bengal, Signal No. 3 Issued for Sea Ports

3h | TBS Today
The fight between two brothers; Adidas vs Puma

The fight between two brothers; Adidas vs Puma

13h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net