2017 marks 100 years since women were given the right to vote in the UK, or at least a good proportion of them. Plenty has changed between then and now, although as recent events go to show, there’s still a long way to go in the fight for gender equality.

Both the Harvey Weinstein and President’s Club dinner scandals represent two of the most shameful ends of the sexism spectrum, revealing how attitudes in some corners remain nothing short of backwards. Even so, there are some silver linings just about visible on the clouds, we’ve put together the following 12 stats— half negative and half positive— to highlight the current reality of women in work, business, and specifically the media.
Hollywood has a long, long way to go
Angelina Jolie was 2013’s highest paid female movie star in America, netting an average of $33million per movie. That’s not a bad yield, but it’s also the same as the two lowest paid male movie stars of that year, Denzel Washington and Liam Neeson, while Robert Downey Jr., the highest paid man in the movies, rakes in $75million.
In the UK, journalism needs a revolution 
According to figures from 2016, British journalism is currently 55% male, and 94% white. Nearly half of all women working in the industry earn £2,400 per month, compared with 1/3 men. Almost half of female employees work in roles considered ‘rank and file’ journalists for six to 10 years before promotion to junior or senior management positions.
As do the industry awards 
4.5 to 1; the ratio of male to female nominees at the 2015 British Press Awards.
The CES failed women in 2018
Earlier this month we published  our key takeouts from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The first point we made was that the event failed to invite a single female keynote speaker, indicative of a wider gender bias the tech sector has long been criticised for.
HR departments are worryingly divided 
Half of all female HR directors consider their workplaces to be sexist. The figure drops to 25% for their male counterparts. 63% of female HR directors and decision makers see sexism still prevalent in most workplaces, and this increases to 76% for female employees in general.
 

Someone mapped the most sexist cities in the UK based on business facts
Chester came out the worst, with the gender pay gap a staggering 54% on average (£24,589 for women, £37,959 for men). Belfast was the most equal city, although this still had a gender pay divide of 18%.
Women have never been more employed 
According to the Pew Research Center’s labour force analysis of 114 nations, women make up 45.5% of the total working population. The countries with the highest proportion of female employees are all in sub-Saharan Africa; at least 50% of all jobs in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Gambia, Liberia, and Tanzania are occupied by women.
Female leads in movies have been on the rise 
In 2015, 2016, and 2017 female lead movie roles have been in ascent. In 2016, for example, 29% of protagonists in the 100 highest grossing films were women, an increase of 7% on the previous year, and a historic high for the talkies.
Women dominate PR 
The 2014 PR World Report showed that 59% of all Public Relations Managers were women, and some studies claim up to 85% of all roles in the sector go to females. However, only 30% of global agencies are run by women, which shows a disparity between the numbers employed and those employed in the most senior positions.
Most influencers are women 
83.9% of social media #ad posts in 2017 came from women, and female influencers outnumber their male equivalents. The gender pay gap is still a huge problem across the globe, but here in the UK women are making significantly more than men as influencers; up to £41,600 each year per 100,000 followers, compared with £31,200 for males.
 
There’s more support than ever for women in film 
Ironic, perhaps, given Weinstein and subsequent Hollywood ‘revelations’, but the American Film Institute is taking serious steps to boost the number of women sitting behind cameras. Its Directing Workshop for Women offers hands on training, with brands like Fiji Water providing financial support and recently launching a red carpet campaign which will run throughout this year’s awards season.
Women rule advertising in China, the world’s fastest growing economy
20 of the biggest agencies in Greater China are run by females, with 64% of all women employed, and 33% of those under the age of 40 earning more than their husbands. Gender equality has been entrenched in the country’s mindset since the cultural revolution of 1949, when the focus was on every citizen contributing to national success.