nytlive.nytimes.com - Despite the efforts of Hollywood’s leading women to raise awareness about issues such as the gender pay gap and the obstacles faced by female directors, a new report from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University appears to show that opportunities for women in the movie business are not increasing, but, rather, declining. According to the report, the percentage of women directors working on the 250 highest-grossing domestic releases declined from nine percent in 2015 to seven percent in 2016. The number of producers working on the top 250 films of 2016 also declined by two percent from the year before, while the number of women editors declined by five percent. Overall, 96 percent of the year’s top films lacked even a single female cinematographer.

“I would say I’m dumbfounded,” said Martha Lauzen, executive director of the center and chief author of the study. “It is remarkable that with all of the attention and talk over the last couple of years in the business and the film industry, the numbers actually declined. Clearly the current remedies aren’t working.”