EGOT is an acronym for the – considered – four most prestigious awards in the entertainment industry: Emmy (tv series), Grammy (music), Oscars (films), and Tony (theater). Only twelve people in history received the title due to the difficulty to win one of these categories alone, the four being almost impossible. Only four women have won the title, and that leads – once again – to the debate over women’s reality in the industry.
At the beginning of every year, most of these competitions announce their nominations, which sparks conversation around topics such as diversity, gender disparity amongst others. One that has become a common topic regards women directors and the lack of wins they have. A lot of people complain about the Oscar, the most famous one out of the four, but how are women being represented and awarded in the other awards?
Women in Film Industry Awards
The 2022 edition of the Golden Globes already happened. The ceremony received backlash from people in the industry (actors, producers, filmmakers, etc.) due to the lack of diversity present in the ceremony. In this year’s event, Jane Campion was the third woman to ever win the category of ‘Best Director’ for her Netflix film The Power Of The Dog. Barabara Streisand was the first woman to win the award in 1984. Chloé Zhao was the second woman to win last year.
The Emmys have been no different. In last year’s edition, for the first time in the history of the award, two women won the two categories of Best Director – one for drama and one for comedy. Only ten other women won in the category, the first won being Karen Arthur – who won 30 years after the beginning of the Emmy ceremony. Arthur’s win didn’t open the door for more female directors: it took over a decade for another one to win an award.
Unfortunately, regarding the female theater director’s it has been just as bad. In 2019, director Rachel Chavkin won Best Direction on a Musical, with her musical Hadestown. The musical also won Best Original Score written by Anaïs Mitchell. She was the fourth woman to win this award in the 73 years of the Tony’s. Only ten women won the awards for Best Direction on a play or musical.
Why Does It Matter If A Woman Wins An Award?
It goes beyond women getting recognized, it also influences the next generation of women filmmakers. Various studies have shown that once there is some form of representation in a certain job/area available for children to look up to they tend to be interested in that area. So, when you do award female directors, the chances of women becoming that decreases significantly. And the same goes for every career and job. But especially in the entertainment industry due to the public nature of the industry.
Last year, 2021, when Promising Young Woman won the Best Original Screenplay award, I was surprised. It was a film that I was certain it wouldn’t win. Why? It views rape and sexual assault in a very violent way, and that does not sugar coat the outcome for so many victims or their friends/families – it is not ‘Oscar friendly’. But I remember how shocked and happy I was that it did: a movie about the reality of so many women, written and directed by a woman, won an award. It made me think that maybe there is, indeed, a space for this type of narrative to be recognized. It made me want to tell stories like this one.
Conclusion
It is incredibly sad to see that most of these awards have been happening for almost a century, and still the lack of women directors winning awards is not exclusive to one ceremony. Thankfully, this seems to be improving, however, at a much slower rate than necessary. Let’s look at the younger generation and start differently: recognizing and giving them the space to be the new face of the industry.
