Sybil and David Yurman are taking on gender in Hollywood. Image courtesy of David Yurman
Jeweler David Yurman is expanding on its corporate efforts to empower women by executive producing a documentary.
The feature-length film, which has the working title “Gender in Hollywood,” aims to shed light on discrimination and lack of opportunities for women in the entertainment industry. David Yurman has an executive committee that is approximately three-quarters female, and almost seven in 10 of its workers are women, making this an issue that hits close to home.
"We are a company of women, led by women and co-founded by a woman," said Sybil Yurman, co-founder of David Yurman. "Since 1980 we have strived to elevate and celebrate women throughout all levels of the company."
On film
Along with David Yurman, the film counts Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis and David and Sybil Yurman’s daughter-in-law Ku-Ling Yurman as its executive producers.
"I first experienced institutionalized inequality when I was in film school, and quickly realized it spans all industries," said Ku-Ling Yurman in a statement. "Our objective with this documentary is to bring about actual change. We have a collective responsibility to take ownership of this issue and activate a higher standard for gender equality.”
The film is being produced by CreativeChaos vmg and New Plot Films in association with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Artemis Rising Foundation.
Filming began in 2016, as director Tom Donahue captured interviews with industry insiders who are both in front of and behind the camera, including Ms. Davis, Shonda Rhimes, Jessica Chastain, Lena Dunham, Judd Apatow and Alan Alda. Interspersed with the testimonies of actors, directors and studio executives will be statistics from Ms. Davis’ research organization, which aims to create more gender parity within Hollywood.
Geena Davis. Image credit: Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
"Unconscious gender bias directly correlates to the way women are represented on screen," said Ms. Davis. "When we look at how this documentary will add to the discussion about gender inequality, we hope one of the key takeaways is that a solution is only possible if both women and men in this industry work together to create change."
Luxury has taken an active role in the appeal for more gender equality in film.
For instance, Kering launched a Women in Motion initiative three years ago at the Cannes Film Festival with the goal of underscoring the onscreen and behind-the-scenes contributions of women in the film industry. Through the Women in Motion platform, Kering raises awareness, via chats and events, focused on topics such as actresses’ wage gap, the need for strong female characters and women directors, among other issues (see story).