Los Angeles: The "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow has spoken out against the gender bias in Hollywood while supporting the American Civil Liberties Union's announcement that they are targeting discriminatory practices against female directors.
"I have always firmly believed that every director should be judged solely by their work, and not by their work based on their gender. Hollywood is supposedly a community of forward thinking and progressive people yet this horrific situation for women directors persists," Bigelow told TIME in a statement.
"Gender discrimination stigmatizes our entire industry. Change is essential. Gender neutral hiring is essential," said Bigelow, who is the first and only female director to win an Oscar.
The ACLU sent three letters to the federal government on Tuesday asking for an investigation into the biases that exist in the industry.
The ACLU spoke to over 50 directors to find out about systematic gender bias behind female filmmakers getting less work than their male counterparts.
