Not just a 'glass ceiling' but 'cement': Female film composers struggle to be heard

The lack of any female nominees for original scoreat this year's Academy Awards highlights another major discrepancy in the entertainment industry: Only a small percentage of Hollywood's top composers are women.

"Unfortunately, I think it really shows the reality," saidJanal Bechthold, a Toronto-based composer.

"There's a lot of women who are working in the industry and doing excellent work butwith the lack of visibility and of course not necessarily getting hired for those blockbuster hits at the same rate as men."

A study published recently by the University of Southern California's AnnenbergInclusion Initiative says of 111 composers across 2017's top100 moviesin North America, only one was female. Researchers also point out that over 11 years of studying the topic, no more than two female composers have ever been employed per year on the biggest box office films.

"It's not just a glass ceiling;it's kind of a cement ceiling," said L.A.-basedLolitaRitmanis,president of the Alliance forWomen FilmComposers in the U.S.

Male composerspaid 8 timesmore

Canadian figures paint an equally dismal portrait.Asurvey done by the Screen Composers Guild of Canada had similar findings andalso revealed another startling chasm: On average, men were paid eight times more than women when it came to fees, production costsand commissioning.

It's a boys'club.- Lolita Ritmanis,president of L.A.-basedAlliance for Women Film Composers

"There's kind of a feeling of not being taken seriously," said Ritmanis. "Like, 'Oh how didshe get into this meeting'and 'Why is she here?' And you know,if it's not actually said it's felt. It's almost felt with alittle bit of a sneer. It's a boys' club."

For decades, memorable scores have been associated with award winnerssuch as Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight), Hans Zimmer (The Lion King), Howard Shore (TheLord of the Rings)and John Williams (Star Wars). If you Google"top Hollywood composers," almost every imagefrom the dozens that pop up are men.

Bechthold, who has worked on several feature films including Art of Obsession and The Vatican Deception, agrees that sexism is a battle on many fronts.

"People want to have a meeting to talk about their film and then halfway through the lunch you realizethat, 'Oh wait, this was actually a date,'" said Bechthold, who also chairs theSCGC's Women Composer Advisory Council. "And yeah, that's not the way I'm looking to get a job."

6%is an increase

Despite the gender barriers andlow statistics, there isoptimism.The numbers, surprisingly,are higher than in years past. TheCenter for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University sayssixper cent of composers on the top 250 grossing films of 2018were women, double 2017'sthree per cent.

Canadian composer-songwriter Carly Paradis, now based in the U.K.,said during a recent music panel she had noticed a significant shiftcompared to when she first started in the business.

"There were a lot of females coming up to me and asking questions after, but 10or 15years ago, when I used to go to these conferences, Iwas the only female there," said Paradis, who's writtenmusic for Netflix shows and others such as One Tree Hill, Degrassi: The Next Generation and Rookie Blue.

Also, major films in the works this year, such asThe Joker and Captain Marvel, have female composers at the helm. Women who are climbing the ladder are trying to open doors for new talent on the rise, but ultimatelymost decision-makers with the power to implement changesare still men.

"I look at Canada and think if every production company agreed to hire one more female composer at every tier of productionthat they work on, that would solve this disparity," said Bechthold.