By The Numbers

By The Numbers: Diversity During the Fall/Winter 2018 Fashion Shows

Anok Yai opens the Fall/Winter 2018 Prada show at New York Fashion Week (The Independent UK)

Anok Yai opens the Fall/Winter 2018 Prada show at Milan Fashion Week (The Independent UK)

Diversity in the fashion industry has been a hot-button topic for some time. Diversity in fashion shows has been a large part of that discussion. Fortunately, “The Fashion Spot” tracks this and keeps the industry accountable. The site puts the findings in a report and releases them to the public.

Here’s what “The Fashion Spot” found for diversity on the runway for the Fall/Winter 2018 fashion shows:

  • New York had the most racially-diverse models, ahead of London, Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks.
  • Nonwhite models comprised 37%+ of models for New York Fashion Week. This was just a .4% increase from last year.
  • 7 designers had fashion shows that were 62%+ diverse.
  • 33 transgender women and non-binary models walked in shows this year.
  • Plus-size models comprised 1%+ of all models.
  • There were 9 models aged 50+. This is down from 10 the year before.

 

By The Numbers: Sexual Assault Statistics

Sexual Assault definition (Planned Parenthood Action Fund)

Sexual Assault definition (Planned Parenthood Action Fund)

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I couldn’t let the month pass without sharing some important statistics around sexual assault. They’re not the most fun stats, but they’re very important.

  • 1 in 5 women will be raped within their lifetime.
  • 51%+ of female rape victims were raped by an intimate partner.
  • 1 in 71 men will be raped within their lifetime.
  • 52%+ of male rape victims were raped by an acquaintance.
  • An estimated 17.7M women have been raped since 1998.
  • 21% of trans college students have been sexually assaulted.
  • American Indians are twice as likely to experience sexual assault than other races.
  • 49%+ of multiracial women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime.
  • Women and men with intellectual disabilities are seven times more likely to be the victims of sexual assaults than women and men without intellectual disabilities.
  • 80.6K inmates in jails and prisons experience sexual violence.

By The Numbers: Women Who’ve Headlined Coachella

Beyonce headlines Coachella 2018 (Time)

INDIO, CA – APRIL 14: Beyonce Knowles performs onstage during 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Field on April 14, 2018 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

This post was originally published on January 19, 2017 and is being republished. It has been updated from the original.

The first weekend of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (also known as…Coachella) happened last weekend, and this weekend is part two. As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Beyonce headlines this year’s festival. She put out an epic set last weekend (watch it if you haven’t!!!)

Why is this significant? Beyonce is the first Black woman to headline Coachella!!

Coachella festivals (#): 19

  • Founded in 1999

Total female headliners (#): 3

Bjork headlined in 2002 and 2007.

Unique female headliners (#): 2

  • Bjork and Beyonce

Total female headliners (%): 2.17%

Unique female headliners (%): 1.45%

Main stage acts (approximate #): 138

*Source: Coachella Festival line-ups page on Wikipedia

Women Running for Office: By The Numbers

Women senators of the 113th Congress, 2013 (ABC News)

Women senators of the 113th Congress, 2013 (ABC News)

Do you pay attention to midterm elections? Well, you should this year! This year’s races should be really fascinating to watch because there are a record number of women registered to run for a seat in the House of Representatives.

Let’s take a look at some other numbers surrounding women running for public office:

526 women running for public office in 2018

  • 395 women running for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2018
  • 50 women running for Senate seats in 2018
  • 79 women up for governors’ seats

Here’s what not-so-distant past trends looked like:

  • 20 women sworn in as senators in 2013 (the largest class of women Senators ever!)
  • 298 women ran for public office in 2012 (Side note: this was the previous record.)
  • 34 women ran for governors’ seats in 1994

Let’s hope this year brings a record-breaking number of women elected!!

 

International Women’s Day 2018: By The Numbers

International Women's Day 2018 (Code Pink)

International Women’s Day 2018 (Code Pink)

Today is International Women’s Day! Here are some fun facts appropriate for the day (and for the purposes of this blog) to dazzle your friends, with sources hyperlinked:

  • “Women love sex just as much as men. In a recent survey, three quarters of the females polled said they wanted to romp at least three times a week.”
  • Women now make up over half of college graduates at 58%. And it’s had an effect: “This increased percentage of educated women has been directly tied to economic growth worldwide — and faster economic growth at that.”
  • Curious about how the wage gap‘s looking? “In 2016, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid.”
  • 80% of women directors made only 1 film between 2007 to 2016.
  • Only 17% of start-ups had a female founder in 2017.
  • This year’s theme is “#pressforprogress — a push for gender parity nationwide.”

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots more interesting facts out there. Now go out and spread the word that change needs to happen!!

Women in Entertainment: Female Best Director Oscar Nominees and Winners, By The Numbers

Kathryn Bigelow at the 2010 Oscars (Zimbio)

Kathryn Bigelow at the 2010 Oscars (Zimbio)

This post was originally published on January 25, 2018 and is being republished as part of Women in Entertainment Week. It has been updated from the original.

The Oscars are this weekend, and actress/director Greta Gerwig is in the running for Best Director for her feature “Lady Bird.”

Gerwig is only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director! Isn’t that insane?! Especially since the Oscars have been occurring since 1927…

Here are some stats on female nominees for the Best Director Oscar:

Estimated Number of Best Director Oscar Nominees, 1927-2017: 451

  • This number covers 90 years of the Academy Awards, with an average of 5 directors nominated per year.

Number of female Best Director nominees: 5

  • Lina Wertmuller for “Seven Beauties” (1976)
  • Jane Campion for “The Piano” (1993)
  • Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” (2003)
  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)
  • Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird” (2017)

Percentage of female Best Director nominees to total Best Director nominees: 1.11%

Number of American female Best Director nominees: 3

  • Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” (2003)
  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)
  • Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird” (2017)

Female Best Director winners: 1

  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)

Percentage of Female Best Director Winners to Total Best Director Winners: 1.11%

Number of American female Best Director winners: 1

  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)

Obviously, these numbers need to change. More women need to be recognized and rewarded for their achievements!

By The Numbers: “Black Panther”‘s Audience Breakdown

Shuri (Letitia Wright) in 'Black Panther, 2018 (ESPN FiveThirtyEight)

Shuri (Letitia Wright) in ‘Black Panther, 2018 (ESPN FiveThirtyEight)

As you no doubt have heard by now (and if you haven’t, where are you?!), “Black Panther” is breaking records left and right: It has the second-highest box office gross in its first four days, and is the highest-grossing movie to open over President’s Day weekend (among other records).

One thing that’s happened with the release of the movie is that the audience makeup is slightly different than the usual. Here’s the breakdown!

First, let’s look at race:

Typical Superhero Movie (2016 Average):

  • African-American: 15%
  • Caucasian: 52%
  • Hispanic: 21%

“Black Panther:”

  • African-American: 37%
  • Caucasian: 35%
  • Hispanic: 18%

For those of you who need a visual:

'Black Panther' Audience Make-Up by Demographic (Quartz)

‘Black Panther’ Audience Make-Up by Demographic (Quartz)

Check that out!! The percentage of African-Americans seeing “Blank Panther” was more than double that of the average superhero movie.

The Typical Superhero numbers were pulled from a Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Theatrical Market Statistics report from 2016. “Black Panther” numbers came from audience tracking platform comScore.

Gender:

Typical Superhero Movie’s Opening Weekend:

  • Male: 60-65%
  • Female: 35-40%

“Black Panther” Opening Weekend:

  • Male: 55%
  • Female: 45%

This is big too! More women wanted to see “Black Panther” on opening weekend than the usual superhero fare. One explanation is that the movie positions many strong, dynamic female characters front and center: Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Okoye (Danai Gurira).

There you have it, folks: Hard data on the fact that representation matters in media. If you represent inclusivity in your movie, you’ll give a more inclusive audience. And that will translate to bigger bank.

By The Numbers: NPR Releases 2017 Staff Diversity Data

National Public Radio (NPR) Logo (NPR)

National Public Radio (NPR) Logo (NPR)

National Public Radio (NPR) has committed to inclusive hiring practices by releasing its newsroom diversity data each year. Last month, the diversity data for 2017 was released for 377 employees. All data was self-reported. I also compared these numbers to NPR’s 2016 diversity data.

Here’s the race/ethnicity breakdown:

White: 75.1%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – White: -.3%

Latino: 6.1%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – Latino: .7%

Black: 8.8%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – Black: .8%

Asian: 7.7%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – Asian: -6.%

Two or More Reported: 2.1%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – Two or More Reported: -.5%

American Indian: .3%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – American Indian: 0%

Here’s the gender split:

Male: 43.8%

  • Change Year-Over-Year – Male (%): -1.1%

Female: 56.2%

Change Year-Over-Year – Female (%): +1.1%

Obviously, there are some problems here. The first problem is that the data is self-reported, so we can assume that respondents self-selected to participate. The second problem is that there is not nearly enough diversity on staff. The third problem is that progress towards more diversity is proceeding too slowly. More progress needs to be made!

By The Numbers: African-American Best Director Oscar Nominees

'Moonlight,' 2016 (Collider)

‘Moonlight,’ 2016 (Collider)

Jordan Peele hit the trifecta of Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay) with his debut feature “Get Out.” (Definitely see it if you haven’t yet!!) Peele achieved this with his debut feature, making him only the third director and the first African-American director to do so.

Here are some stats on African-American nominees for the Best Director Oscar:

Estimated Number of Best Director Oscar Nominees, 1927-2017: 451

  • This number covers 90 years of the Academy Awards, with an average of 5 directors nominated per year.

Number of African-American Best Director nominees: 5

  • John Singleton for “Boyz N The Hood” (1991)
  • Lee Daniels for “Precious” (2009)
  • Steve McQueen for “12 Years a Slave” (2013)
  • Barry Jenkins for “Moonlight” (2016)
  • Jordan Peele for “Get Out” (2017)

Percentage of African-American Best Director nominees to total Best Director nominees: 1.11%

Decades with the highest number of African-American Best Director nominees:

  • 2010s: 3
  • 2000s: 1
  • 1990s: 1

African-American Best Director winners: 0

  • I want Peele to win!!

These numbers are terrible! The Academy needs to not only recognize, but reward, inclusive stories and storytellers!!

By The Numbers: Female Best Director Oscar Nominees

Greta Gerwig at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards (Elk Grove Tribune)

Greta Gerwig at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards (Elk Grove Tribune)

Oscar nominations dropped earlier this week, and actress/director Greta Gerwig received a nomination for Best Director for her feature “Lady Bird.”

Gerwig is only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director! Isn’t that insane?! Especially since the Oscars have been occurring since 1927…

Here are some stats on female nominees for the Best Director Oscar:

Estimated Number of Best Director Oscar Nominees, 1927-2017: 451

  • This number covers 90 years of the Academy Awards, with an average of 5 directors nominated per year.

Number of female Best Director nominees: 5

  • Lina Wertmuller for “Seven Beauties” (1976)
  • Jane Campion for “The Piano” (1993)
  • Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” (2003)
  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)
  • Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird” (2017)

Percentage of female Best Director nominees to total Best Director nominees: 1.11%

Number of American female Best Director nominees: 3

  • Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” (2003)
  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)
  • Greta Gerwig for “Lady Bird” (2017)

Female Best Director winners: 1

  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)

Percentage of Female Best Director Winners to Total Best Director Winners: 1.11%

Number of American female Best Director winners: 1

  • Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009)

Obviously, these numbers need to change. More women need to be recognized and rewarded for their achievements!