‘UnREAL’ Director On Why ‘White Men’ Shouldn’t Be Hollywood’s Only Storytellers

Sexism is not good for business.

In a July 28 TED Talk, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro explained how hard it is for female directors and writers to break into the film industry. The co-creator and director of Lifetime's new TV show, "UnREAL," discussed why it's so problematic that women are left out of the equation when it comes to creating films -- and how we can fix it.

“I’ve been told ‘no’ more times than I can even count," she said. "‘No’ is a total healthy and normal part of life. But the part that has been almost unmanageably heartbreaking is that I am constantly passed over for guys who have way less experience and less vision for the project than I do.”

In order to combat this sexism, Shapiro said we need to approach the problem from a business standpoint. “We’ve already tried having only white men tell our stories," Shapiro told the crowd. "As female directors we need to make business sense. We need to prove that not only can we hang in the big leagues, but we also provide a product that they can’t get anywhere else."

She said that leaving women out is simply not a good business model. "We are ignoring 50 percent of our resources as a business. And that’s really really bad business," Shapiro said.

When a woman is hired on set, Shapiro says, “she's worked so hard and so long to get here, chances are she’s gonna kill it for you.”

Although Hollywood sexism won't end overnight, Shapiro says there are a few things we can do now to fight it including looking out for other women and leaning on your allies whoever they may be. And, obviously, never give up.

For more, watch Shapiro's TED Talk below.

H/T WifeyTV

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