To bridge the gender gap in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Film School has created a $1.5 million Women In Entertainment Scholarship Fund Initiative.
According to Deadline, the scholarship has a long-term goal of creating “parity in female enrollment in the film school and its subsidiary The Los Angeles Recording School.”
The initiative will provide a one-time $2000 award toward tuition for all newly-enrolled female students, who now comprise 25% of their student body. With the initiative, the number is expected to double over time.
“We realized we can do better and are proud to commit ourselves to affording a higher educational opportunity to chart a course for evening out the starting gates for women,” said LAFS Special Advisor Dave Phillips.
Sandra Lee, LAFS’s Associate Film Program Director and Professor, said the scholarship is just another step in providing women leadership positions in the entertainment industry.
“We believe strongly that our commitments today will make a difference in developing our leaders of tomorrow,” said Lee. “Opportunities for women in entertainment are improving and while we recognize there is much work to be done, we’re proud to be able to offer this scholarship to incoming female students as a next step.”
“We stand in solidarity with the advancement of all women across the industry and hope the Women in Entertainment Scholarship will help our students reach their full potential as the dynamic innovators that they are,” she concluded.
Closing the gender gap in Hollywood, especially the thoroughly debunked “gender pay gap,” became a major cause in entertainment circles following the #MeToo movement.