News Archive
M&M’s “Flipping the Status Quo” Winners Announced
Celebrate the winners of M&M’s “Flipping the Status Quo” program, announced on International Women’s Day. Nominated by friends, family, and colleagues, these women are positively impacting the community around them. We are so excited to support these game-changing women and their missions!
New Goddess Exhibition & Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation Conference – April 5
Photos Credits: L-R: Laverne Cox in Paper Magazine, 2020, © Joshua Kissi. Marilyn Monroe, image by Milton H. Greene, © Archive on behalf of Milton H. Greene. 2007 SAKURAN Film Committee © Moyoco Anno/Kodansha. Winnie Harlow. Photo: Albert Sanchez
ACMI today announces a pivotal new partnership with two-time Academy Award-winning actor and advocate Geena Davis and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The iconic actor is set to travel to Melbourne as lead ambassador for the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces blockbuster, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion. The ACMI-curated exhibition opens at Australia’s national museum of screen culture on April 5, 2023 before touring internationally.
Globally renowned for her show-stopping performances in hits such as Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own, Beetlejuice and The Accidental Tourist, Geena Davis is a true Hollywood movie star. Beyond her impact on screen, she is also a leader in leveraging research, education and advocacy to influence systemic change in onscreen character portrayals in global film, television, advertising and gaming through her Institute.
Goddess celebrates the pantheon of trailblazing women who fought the system that tried to exploit them. Showcasing more than 150 exhibition highlights, including never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences, large-scale projections and cinematic treasures, the exhibition interrogates the many stereotypes surrounding the screen goddess and honours the ground-breaking achievements of the screen’s revolutionary leading women.
In aligning with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Goddess signals the work of these formidable figures is far from done – there are more boundaries to break, agendas to advance and systems to fight – while working towards a better future.
Speaking about her ambassadorship with ACMI, Geena Davis, said: “I’m so excited to be a launch partner for this ground-breaking exhibition and to lead important conversations about gender equality at the special Goddess event, Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation. This one-day conference at ACMI will inspire discussion about equality, diversity and ageing on Australian screens – vital conversations to have if we are to make permanent change in the screen industry.”
Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation Conference
April 5, 9am – 6pm
This one-day conference will galvanise conversations around gender representation and diversity on Australian screens through panel discussions and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Geena Davis and her passionate call to action, live in conversation on April 5. The incredible speaker line up includes Madeline Di Nonno, President & CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and a cross-section of Australian screen industry talent including Michelle Cheng, Santilla Chingaipe, Jan Fran, Elaine Crombie, Sophie Hyde, Amy Marks, Pallavi Sharda, Anousha Zarkesh, plus award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist Carly Findlay, and the 2023 Australian of the Year, award-winning filmmaker, bestselling author and founder of the Body Image Movement, Taryn Brumfitt.
Tickets to the provocative new exhibition and events program now on sale
18 Wonderful Films About Black Girlhood and the Coming-of-Age Experience
For many of us, cinema is an awakening. It is revelatory in that it can showcase what is possible. The moving image acts as a mirror, showing us who we are and giving us glimpses of who we could be. But what happens when you can’t see yourself?
In a 2019 study, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media examined the Representations of Black Women in Hollywood. The organization determined that while Black girls and women are 6.5 percent of the U.S. population, only 3.7 percent of leads/co-leads in the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade fit that demographic. In short, for Black girls and teens, seeing themselves on screen is still a rarity.
Geena Davis: What I Know Now
Geena was interviewed by AARP, discussing her new memoir Dying of Politeness, the beauty of archery, dreams of being shorter, and why we need female presidents.
Geena Davis on M&M’s for a Cause, ‘Thelma & Louise’, Fear, and More
Jim Clash at Forbes interviews Geena Davis about her film career and her work with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. They also discuss Mars, Inc., the candy company and long-time supporter of women’s causes, which is donating money to select female-championing organizations, and, for the first time, releasing all-female packages of M&M’s, featuring the female characters Purple, Brown and Green. One of the donation recipients is the Geena Davis institute. In a special M&M’s campaign, Mars, Inc. is looking for amazing women who are flipping the status quo and breaking boundaries, awarding $10,000 grants to select winners to fund their flip.
Nominate a Woman Who Is Flipping the Status Quo and They Could Receive $10,000 to Fund Their Flip!
The Geena Davis Institute is so excited to be partnering with M&M’S® in celebrating their first-ever all-female packs and to help find amazing amazing women who benefit their communities, transforming the world around them by trailblazing new paths for others and creating a space where everyone feels they belong.
Who are the women breaking down barriers in your life?
Visit https://mms.com/flipthestatusquo from January 5th to the 15th and complete the nomination form to give them the opportunity to win $10,000 grants to help further fund their flip!
Teen Vogue: TV Diversity Still Has a Long Way to Go, Darker-Skinned Women Still the Most Underrepresented On-Screen
On-screen diversity and representation has progressed so much over the last few decades — but what about the last decade in particular? It seems like the diversity gaps are closing, but more quickly for some demographics than others.
Google Research in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute and the University of Southern California revealed findings from a study on TV representation for scripted television shows from 2010 through 2021, in efforts to shed light on the status of inclusion and representation on TV in the United States and its evolution over the past 12 years.
“To move the needle, we need greater acceleration [of screen time for female characters] to achieve parity with male characters, conscious casting to consider a broad range of skin tones for both live action and animated characters, and more diverse storytellers behind the scenes,” Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media tells Teen Vogue. “Eliminating unconscious bias starts with a script! When there are diverse storytellers behind the scenes, there will be more diverse and inclusive characters on-screen. It is imperative that creative executives use an intersectional gender lens when evaluating all the characters being shown on screen regardless of whether they are a lead, co-lead, or minor character.”
Licensing International and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Reveal New Data on Inclusion in the Global Licensing Industry
Licensing International, in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Netflix, hosted a live event yesterday to announce the results of the 2022 Global Study of Diversity in Licensing. The new data was presented by Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of GDI, at the Netflix offices in Los Angeles, California.
The 2022 study, which analyzed findings from two global surveys of Licensing International members, examined the effect the pandemic had on diversity and inclusion initiatives in the industry with a focus on employee retention.
Read the Full Press Release for notable findings or Download the Study.
The LEGO Group Invites Girls to Stay Curious in STEAM Subjects on International Day of the Girl
The LEGO Group marks International Day of the Girl with a new campaign to encourage girls to stay curious about STEAM subjects and careers. New and sobering statistics from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and the LEGO Group show girls are still discouraged from STEAM fields from a young age when play is often gender stereotyped.
For example, one statistic in the Geena Davis Institute LEGO Creativity Study shows 80% of boys are encouraged to code at a young age, compared with only 20% of girls*. Furthermore, when asked, children as young as six think girls don’t like science. These misconceptions extend into the teen years and adulthood and contribute to the gender gap within STEAM related careers**.
To help combat these misconceptions, the LEGO Group is launching an online campaign called “Let’s Keep them Curious!” that includes 5 STEAM play activities which aim to inspire parents to continue to nurture girls’ interests in STEAM by exploring fun LEGO brick challenges.
Order Geena’s New Book!
Institute Founder Geena Davis’ hilarious and candid memoir Dying of Politeness is available October 11, 2022 from HarperOne Books! It’s the tale of her “journey to badassery” — culminating in helping to lead the way to gender parity in Hollywood.
