Movies have never been more important than this past year. We streamed and they entertained, informed and inspired us, sustaining us through months of housebound isolation. It was also a good year for women in the industry. Regina King opened this week's Oscar's ceremony; Chloé Zhao became the first Chinese woman and woman of color to be named best director for “Nomadland” (which also took home the prize for best picture); and Emerald Fennell, director and writer of the powerful revenge satire "Promising Young Woman," won the best original screenplay. So it seems like a good week to shine a light on movies through a women's empowerment lens.
As we saw during this year's ceremony, women are making great strides in this once male-dominated industry. That's great, but while the number of women working in the film industry has reached historic highs, men still outnumber women four to one in key roles. Progress matters, but women still remain far from parity. There's reason to celebrate, but still work to be done.
Last month Refinery29 ran a great list of movies that highlight women's stories — the kind of movies that will stay with you long past the first viewing. From "9 To 5," to "Hidden Figures," to "Promising Young Woman," this list is a great starting point - and a place to go when you need to feel understood and united with other women of all ages, eras, and walks of life.
Documentaries don't seem to get enough attention - especially those made by women, about women. One of our favorites in this category is "RBG," a biographical documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen. A brand new doc on our "want to see" list is "$avvy," a new film by Robin Hauser which reminds us of why women need to take control of their finances. "It promotes the idea that if women prioritized financial literacy, there would be more women CEOs and billionaires, which could reduce the number of cases of sexual abuse in the employment sector."
The film provides a daunting statistic: 56% of women and 61% of millennial women leave their financial decisions up to the men in their life. This is what inspires and motivates us at Woman's Compass Forum - financial (and legal) literacy are essential for every woman at every age and stage of life. The consequences are enormous - lack of mastery and ownership of our own financial domain bleeds over into all areas of our lives, impacting much more than just our bank accounts. Statistics like these suggest that we've got a lot more work to do here as well.
How can we help? Join us for our new Authentic NegoSHEation workshop on July 28. Negotiation is a powerful tool that can help you grow your money, your business and improve your relationships. Learn strategies to up your game — and your confidence — as an effective communicator and negotiator. Want more? Join us for our next 3 month online course for in-depth resources to help you organize, analyze and gain control of all the stressful stuff. By stuff we mean the legal documents you have (and the ones you don’t but should), how you’re earning, spending and saving for retirement (or could be), and the way you’re eating/sleeping/exercising/meditating (or not). Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for helpful information and education on self-care of every kind.
Write your own script! Be part of our growing community of empowered women. Get grounded for life with Women's Compass Forum.