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Geena Davis on growing opportunities for women in film industry: ‘Change hasn’t really happened yet’

‘Thelma & Louise’ star has long been advocate for gender equality in Hollywood

Peony Hirwani
Monday 26 July 2021 09:01 BST
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<p>File image: Geena Davis at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards 2018</p>

File image: Geena Davis at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards 2018

Geena Davis has claimed she’s “still waiting” for the film industry to provide women with as much opportunity as it does men.

During a conversation with CBS News’ Tracy Smith, the 65-year-old actor said that “change hasn’t really happened yet,” while sharing a story of how she realised in 2004 that there were more men than women in the shows her daughter watched on TV.

The Thelma and Louise actor then commissioned a study looking at the phenomenon, which she shared with a number of Hollywood studios. Now, the situation is “50-50”, the actor said.

However, Davis said the situation had not improved for women actors over the age of 50.

“It hasn’t,” Davis said. “It’s much different for female actors past 50 than male actors past 50. The majority of female characters, I believe, are in their 20s, and the majority of male actors are in their 30s and 40s.”

Davis has been an advocate for gender equality in Hollywood for years, leading many campaigns and symposiums on the subject.

She also produced a feature-length documentary about film industry equality, called This Changes Everything.

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