The Hollywood Reporter is finished — for the most part — valuing some powerful women above other powerful players in entertainment.
In an editorial published today, THR's president and chief creative officer, Janice Min, announced that THR is doing away with the ranking element of its Women in Entertainment Power 100. Billboard, THR's sister publication, will also no longer rank women for its Power 50. Explaining the decision, Min writes: "Right here, right now, the moment feels wrong to host a female cage match."
Min saw it fit to rethink the way her publications honor women, given the sad state of gender disparity in the entertainment industry, which she describes as "persistently stuck." She cites the ongoing discussion about the pay gap in Hollywood, and notes that the percentage of women who directed the 100 highest-grossing films actually fell between 2014 and 1992, when the list got its start.
"I can't help but think of a telling passage I read from [former Paramount chairman Sherry] Lansing's upcoming biography that describes her ascension in an era when men felt there was room for just one alpha woman at a time at the studios," Min writes. "I've come to believe that something as simple as our ranked women's lists contributes to keeping that sense alive, that we accidentally created a beauty pageant of brains where only one woman gets crowned. Some women have publicly cried upon seeing their rankings. That is funny to some people. But it's depressing as hell to me."
It's important to note that the lists aren't going away entirely, and that one woman will still be named "executive woman of the year." But the compilations won't be a competition anymore. Women's contributions will still be honored, but the story won't be about women pitted against one another, but about a group of awesome ladies challenging the status quo.
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