Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Geena Davis’ Two Easy Steps to Make Hollywood Less Sexist “We are in effect enculturating kids from the very beginning to see women and girls as not taking up half of the space." Read Geena's guest column in
The Hollywood Reporter
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We’re proud to partner with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media as we work to empower girls. It’s so important that young girls have examples of women on-screen who are smart, resilient, and inspiring, so that they can grow up to reach their full potential.
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– Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS
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if she can see it,
she can be it.™
Your support will further our research efforts and fund continuing curriculum development for young children.
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They have made great strides to change the landscape of media and programming to reflect a more accurate, gender balanced, diverse portrayal of society.
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– Nina Tassler, Chairman, CBS Entertainment
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Kids need to see entertainment where females are valued as much as males.
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– GEENA DAVIS
In family films, there’s only 1 female character for nearly every 3 male characters. For a well-balanced adventure, just add girls.
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As L.A.'s only women's university, we are thrilled to partner with Geena Davis to create research that influences opportunities for women in media.
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– Ann McElaney-Johnson, president of Mount St. Mary's University
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No one has done more to bring strong, complex and truly inspirational female characters to both large and small screens.
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– Wallis Annenberg,
Chairman of the Board, President
and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation

Gender in Media News

December 23, 2016 How Geena Davis is Combating Hollywood Sexism

Actress Geena Davis may be best known for her iconic feminist role in Thelma and Louise, but today she’s working to improve the types of roles actresses across the industry are cast in. Davis says, “[Hollywood] is the one sector in society with a big imbalance that can change overnight.” Watch Video…

December 21, 2016 Octavia Spencer on ‘Hidden Figures,’ Diversity in Hollywood and a Post-Election Call to Action

So interdependent, and yet utterly distinct, are the three principal players in “Hidden Figures” that it wasn’t immediately apparent which, if any, would be singled out by major awards groups for attention. All three are given plenty to chew on in director Theodore Melfi’s rousing, true-but-little-known story of three female African American mathematicians promoted from NASA’s racially segregated computing division to vitally assist the space race in the mid-1960s. But it’s Octavia Spencer who has nailed down Golden Globe and SAG supporting nominations, five years after winning an Oscar for her turn as a memorably vengeful domestic worker in “The Help.” Read More…

December 19, 2016 GBI’s Kid Genius VOD channel gets new leadership

California-based Genius Brands International has appointed renowned kids TV exec Margaret Loesch (pictured) to the newly created role of executive chairman of its Kid Genius VOD toon channel, while also upping the channel’s GM, Debra Pierson, to president. During her more than four decades in the kids entertainment business, Loesch has held senior roles at The Jim Henson Company, Fox Kids Network, Marvel Productions and Hanna-Barbera Productions. Read More…

December 18, 2016 2016: The Year That Women in Hollywood Fought Back

Geena Davis is ready to talk. And, more than ever in 2016, she’s not alone. The Oscar winner and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media has spent years advocating for women in Hollywood and improving gender representation in film. In a December 7 piece for The Hollywood Reporter, Davis made a case for women to “create the future” where women are strongly visible, especially now that Donald Trump is president-elect. That future, Davis told Vanity Fair, would be quite different from the industry when Davis was starting out. Read More…

December 18, 2016 The Women Film Critics Circle Nomination Award Picks For 2016

The Women Film Critics Circle has announced its 2O16 nominations for the best movies this year by and about women, and outstanding achievements by women, who get to be rarely honored historically, in the film world. The Women Film Critics Circle is an association of 80 women film critics and scholars from around the country and internationally, who are involved in print, radio, online and TV broadcast media. They came together in 2004 to form the first women critics’ organization in the United States, in the belief that women’s perspectives and voices in film criticism need to be recognized fully. Read More…

December 18, 2016 Geena Davis: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me (‘I Can Wiggle My Ears One at a Time!’)

Batter up! Actress, athlete and women’s advocate Geena Davis steps up to the plate to reveal 25 things you may not know about her (she’s fluent in Swedish!) in this week’s issue of Us Weekly. #21: 20. I run a film festival every May in Bentonville, Arkansas, called BFF. It was created to champion women and diverse voices in film and other media. Read More…

December 14, 2016 ‘Thelma & Louise,’ ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘The Birds’ Enter National Film Registry

A woman did not make it to the White House this year, but two other famous ladies, Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer, have entered another Washington institution — the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Ridley Scott’s feminist manifesto Thelma & Louise (1991), starring Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, is among the 25 motion pictures selected this year to be preserved for future generations, it was announced today. Thelma & Louise became a symbol of feminism and a cultural flashpoint that landed the film’s stars, in character, on the cover of Time magazine. Anchored by career-defining performances from Sarandon and Davis (and a breakout early appearance by Brad Pitt), Scott’s Thelma & Louise skillfully contrasts action-movie themes with a social commentary before building to an unforgettable climax. Read More…

December 09, 2016 Goldhirsh Foundation Awards $1 Million in Grants to 12 L.A.-Area Organizations

The Goldhirsh Foundation announced winners for its annual My LA2050 Grants Challenge Tuesday, a $1 million grant competition to source creative ideas about shaping the future of Los Angeles. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a research-based organization working with the entertainment industry to improve gender balance in media to empower women and girls, will receive $25,000 to provide scholarships and mentorship opportunities for 50 girls ages 13-18 to participate in their See Jane Salon Series. Read More…

December 08, 2016 Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon Warm Our Hearts With Mini ‘Thelma & Louise’ Reunion

Thelma and Louise are back together again! Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, who starred as the titular characters in 1991’s classic flick, Thelma & Louise, reunited at The Hollywood Reporter’s Annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast in Los Angeles on Wednesday. This Hollywood power breakfast was pretty much the perfect place for the longtime friends to get in a bonding sesh — both women are serious advocates for promoting gender equality in Hollywood. Read More…

December 07, 2016 Sydney Opera House Presents ‘All About Women’

All About Women returns to the Sydney Opera House on March 5, 2017. In its fifth year, All About Women is one of Sydney Opera House’s flagship festivals and occurs as a prelude to International Women’s Day on March 8. It’s a full day of talks and discussions about ideas that matter to women today, and features over 20 guests from Australia, Iceland, Germany, Malaysia, France, Norway, and the United States, and more. Gene Davis will speak on Women and Media. She has has a rare insight into Hollywood and the global film industry – and she knows how far we still need to travel before girls can see the variety of women they want to become in the films they watch, the shows they stream and the media they absorb every day. How does film and TV culture reproduce gender stereotypes? And how can we change the industry so that it reflects and celebrates real women and girls? Read More…

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