After the Oscar nominees were announced Thursday, many were outraged that Ava DuVernay wasn’t given a best director nod for “Selma.” And there was further disappointment that the director nominations didn’t include a single woman. The exclusion of women in Hollywood is nothing new, but the gradual drop-off of women as they climb moviemaking’s ranks is still striking.
The chart above is not a single cohort of aspiring female directors, but the gradual decline in the share women make up of each group is indicative of the larger picture: There have only been four women nominated for best director — ever. And there’s been just one female winner in the 87-year history of the Academy Awards.