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For those who work in the industry, the lack of women holding below-the-line positions in film and television sets is not shocking, as it has been the case for a long time. But ordinary viewers have gotten a taste of this reality.
When the third season of trance It premiered in mid-April, and a behind-the-scenes video began circulating on social media of a scene being filmed with star Sidney Sweeney, who plays Cassie in the Sam Levinson-created drama. The scene in question showed Alexa Demie’s character Maddy filming Cassie’s OnlyFans content in a tiny red and white bikini next to the latter’s apartment pool.
In the BTS video (below), Sweeney is seen standing on a chair by the pool, with several crew members around her as they prepare to film the scene. The original video has since been deleted, but not before the clip was re-uploaded and posted across social media.
For people who had worked in film and television before, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But some fans were quick to point out that the majority of the crew members seen in the clip were men. What made the clip even more disturbing to the average eye was that Sweeney was in a suggestive position at the time.
“How uncomfortable filming all those scenes with a bunch of old men,” one person wrote on
On Reddit, a screenshot from another video, HBO Max’s official behind-the-scenes look at Episode 5, once again shines a spotlight on the predominantly male crew surrounding Sweeney. This time, it was about the sight of a Godzilla-like monster. “Especially this season, the women on the show are feeling so much more Notice “Sure, the aesthetics are incredible and the emotions are running high, but for me there’s always this lingering feeling that the camera is fascinated by these girls and their bodies instead of truly inhabiting their point of view,” the Reddit user wrote.
To be fair, if you look closely at BTS’ first clip, it looks like there are at least two female crew members standing in the back of the clip. But the online discourse still highlights a real, ongoing issue in Hollywood: the lack of progress in lower-level positions held by women.
In 2024-2025, the ReFrame Report — an initiative launched by the Sundance Institute and WIF in partnership with IMDbPro to track gender equity — saw little change in these types of roles since 2020 overall, but saw small gains over the year among the top 100 series.
While some below-the-line positions have seen increases in representation (women, non-binary people and trans people) — directors of photography (6 percent increase), first assistant directors (8.5 percent increase), unit production managers (6.5 percent increase) and production designers (10.5 percent increase) — these roles are still held by a majority of men. Overall, women, non-binary, and transgender people represent only 33% of production directors, 46% of first assistant directors, 26% of directors of photography, and 39% of production designers. Font producers and composers also saw a decrease of 7.5% and 4%, respectively.
Kirsten Schiffer, CEO of WIF, the Los Angeles-based organization that advocates for women in all screen industries, says: Hollywood Reporter That although they are “getting small gains,” seeing small increases in some positions, it is still a “huge problem” industry-wide in the post-#MeToo era.
“There are still a lot of men in key decision-making roles, and they tend to hire people they have worked with a lot in their careers, who also tend to be men,” she explains.
San Diego State University’s Boxed In report looked into those relationships and found that broadcast and streaming projects in 2024-2025 with at least one woman creator hired higher percentages of women as directors (42%), writers (62%), and editors (32%), compared to shows with men as creators, which saw women make up 20% of directors, writers, and editors, respectively.
It’s also why Schiffer stresses the importance of “more male advocates,” committed to gender equality, hiring more women behind the camera and paying them equally, like Bradley Cooper, the late Chadwick Boseman, and Chris Pratt, who have previously promised to share salary information and advocate for equal pay with their female co-leads. She also named director Paul Feig, who directed Sweeney the maidAs someone who is also committed to gender equality in his groups.
When Autumn Dorald Arkapaw became the first woman ever to win Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards this year, she screamed, too. Sinners Director Ryan Coogler for giving us “those opportunities to shine and be ourselves and work in a creative environment where we lead, we’re strong, we have power, we’re trusted, and that’s something that’s very important, and that doesn’t happen very often.”
Arkapaw’s win was not only history-making, but also highlighted women’s talents and abilities. Schiffer also points out that awards are the “most useful” way to change the narrative around these behind-the-camera roles.
Another reason trance The BTS videos were troubling for some fans, as there had already been online discussions throughout the show’s three-season run about the sexualization of women in the series. Schiffer admits she wasn’t surprised by the videos, saying it falls to the man in charge of the group, Levinson, who will be behind the hiring of his staff.
“because trance “He has such strong female characters, you just expect that to be reflected behind the camera, and then when you don’t see it, it’s surprising,” she says. “I mean, it was a little surprising to me, but then when I thought about it more, that was really it [Levinson’s] View from start to finish. He directs all the episodes. “It is ultimately disappointing, but not surprising.”
THR I reached out to HBO for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.
When an industry like Hollywood has been male-dominated for so long, especially in supporting roles, it takes time to see any kind of progress. But Schiffer reminds people that even when businesses are going through “difficult times” — such as current budget cuts, production shifts, AI concerns, and project cancellations — “it’s time for us to redouble our efforts to achieve gender equality and maintain all the progress we’ve made.”
IATSE and Teamsters, the two largest trade unions representing behind-the-scenes workers, did not immediately respond for comment.
Schiffer also calls on the public, especially those who also want to see change behind the camera, to make an impact by “voting with their dollars.”
“If they want to see more gender equality in film and television, go to the theater and see films that are produced by women, directed by women, and have women in lead roles,” she says. “Go watch TV shows created by women that have received the ReFrame seal, and have gender diverse casts.”
