Where Have Women Gone?

http://variety.com/2015/film/awards/awards-seasons-female-troubles-1201391200/

This article makes my heart and my head hurt about just how underrepresented women are — in movies, in media, in the workplace, in politics and government, in leadership, in life. And yet (according to Time Magazine and nielsen.com) — they make up more than 50% of the population, hold half of the nonfarm jobs, own nearly a third of companies, are destined to control 2/3 of U.S. consumer wealth over the next decade, spend $5-$15 trillion in the American marketplace annually, graduate more frequently from college and even watch more video than men across all platforms. But Hollywood cannot grasp that women are vital and relevant? Come on! To quote Cate Blanchett on her rant about including women: “…Audiences want to see them and in fact they earn money. The world is round, people!”

I was never really aware of women v. men growing up. In fact, I never thought twice about the fact that I spent most of my life surrounded by men — my dad and brother, my plethora of male friends, my primarily male college classmates and my mostly male colleagues on movie sets. But since I’ve become more involved in social justice, and more aware of this unbelievable imbalance, my eyes have been opened. Especially as a writer. I found myself writing primarily female protagonists and heroines in my movie scripts. Those scripts, while well-written and professionally lauded, have yet to sell. Hmmm….

On the other hand, the variety of women I have written and am writing into my books — they are on the path to publication, and with the promise of more to come. To that end, I humbly thank the publishers, buyers and sellers, all of those in the literary realm who see, know and understand that women are real and vital and pivotal in the world — as characters and as authors. And they always have been. We thank you for sharing our voices from bookstore shelves to online retailers to e-book clouds. And we thank you, too, for recognizing that a good story well told can come from any set of lips.

Every soul is sacred…

One Comment on “Where Have Women Gone?”

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