Geena Davis has spoken out with her thoughts on gender equality within the film industry, insisting it “hasn’t really happened”.
Speaking to CBS News about how things have changed in the industry, Oscar winner Davis explained: “Oh yeah, let me think of the ways. Oh, it didn’t! So, the change hasn’t really happened yet. Still waiting.”
“No, no. No, it hasn’t [gotten better],” she continued.
She added that the industry was particularly difficult for women over the age f 50.
“It’s much different for female actors past 50 than male actors past 50. The majority of female characters, I believe, are in their 20s, and the majority of male actors are in their 30s and 40s.”
When discussing the opportunities she has received, Davis explained: “You know, I make a joke about that, like, because I’m working to get more female roles in movies and TV, that at some point this will actually benefit me personally. But so far it hasn’t.”
“But they’re so few – I mean, if you look at people in my age range, they’re so few that are really getting, that are really working steadily, you know? There are just very few parts for people my age and older, you know? So, it’s just bad odds, basically.”
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Davis also noted that at the time she starred in Thelma & Louise, it was predicted that there were “going to be so many movies starring women, about women, female road pictures, whatever”.
“I’m thinking, hot dog, let’s sit back and wait for all this magic change to happen. We’re still waiting. It really did not happen.
“It seems like every five years or so, there’s another movie starring women that’s a huge hit and people say, ‘Well now certainly everything is going to change,’ and it really hasn’t.”
Davis added: “The reaction from women was so strong and nothing I’d ever seen before. It made me realise how few opportunities we have for women to come out [of] a movie feeling empowered by the female character.
“It made me think, ‘well, I’m really going to think about what are the women in the audience going to think about my character from now on.’”
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