Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Jasmine Deanne Andrews of Sullied Bride Productions On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male Dominated Industry

An Interview With Ming Zhao

A successful woman needs to assign a tangible value to her femininity. In male dominated industries, there is a tendency for women to try to be just as capable as a man, when in reality all a successful woman needs is to use the strength of her femininity to the fullest. As a director, I know it is only my job to direct a performance, not dictate. The feminine nature to nurture rather than use aggression has given me the ability to bring out award-winning performances from the actors with whom I have worked.

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jasmine Deanne Andrews.

Jasmine Deanne Andrews is an award-winning screenwriter, director for Natalie’s Abortion and The Curse of EVE, film score composer, and the published author of Sullied Bride. Jasmine is passionate about women’s issues and is devoted to filmmaking as an art. She is deeply involved in the community and created her production company, Sullied Bride Productions, in order to give women the opportunity to, “Tell our stories ourselves.”

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I grew up in a rural area surrounded by fields and woods. There was not much to do except watch movies, listen to music, play video games, and weekly trips to the grocery store. When television became boring I was forced to use my imagination. I would see elaborate adventure stories that were far more interesting than the things I saw in the media. Then, one day I started to write some of it down. I later noticed that much of the portrayals of women in film and television were written by men and not aligned with reality. Although I did not start out with much confidence in myself, at some point I realized that if I did not put forward a different message in the media who else would do so?

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

The day filmmaking became a career path for me was the day I had the premiere for my first feature film, The Curse of EVE. Completing the film had been a huge accomplishment to independently gather a group of actors, find locations, organize shoot dates, edit, and then score the project. My hope had been that once I had a finished product I could shop it to large production companies. However, at the premiere an older cousin of mine advised me to always maintain ownership of my work. As I thought about his advice, I realized that I was limiting myself to the idea of being picked up by a bigger company rather than my production company thriving enough to make an impact in the media. Filmmaking as a career is more than work for hire, but the ability to make a mark in the industry. As a result, I stopped looking for endorsements from the larger production companies and focused on growing my own business.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Since I began my career as a filmmaker the most interesting thing that has happened to me is the number of people who believe and support what I am doing. There were a few times that I wanted to give up, but I was surprised to get a calls from friends who wanted to know about my next project and they put in the extra effort to help me get it off the ground. One person in particular is Arlyne Spalla. She is an actress, domestic violence survivor, and a mother who has gone above and beyond to help connect me with other actors to fill important roles and connected me with my current Director of Photography, Greg Valcour. The passion Arlyne has put into my projects has deeply encouraged me at my low points and given me the extra push I needed to keep going.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Three character traits that I think were the most instrumental to my success are organizational management, time management, and consistency. Filmmaking is an art of timing. To make a film, you have to be able to direct everyone to the same location at the time when everyone is available. Then, once everyone is there, you have to get everything done while they are there. Organizational management means that as a director it is my job to make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and guide the execution of that role. For example, films are not shot in order. However, there may be different scenes that take place in a hospital over the course of a few days. For organizational management the production will shoot all of the hospital scenes in one day. As a director, I have to give the actors context for each scene so they are able to keep track of what is happening in the script.

Time management means that I have to be aware of how long it takes to carry out a task and plan the fastest way to move from one scene to another. This includes scheduling scenes in a way that minimizes drastic changes between scenes. If a character has a bruised eye, it can take an hour to prepare the bruised make-up. Effective time management means that the bruised eye scenes will be shot last, because of the time and effort it would take to remove and reapply the bruised makeup. Lastly, consistency is important for any type of success. Anyone can have a spurt of creative energy. However, consistency determines how far that creative energy will go. To be successful means that beyond the spurt of creative energy, I have to make sure that I devote the same amount of effort into a project every day until it is complete.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?

The biggest obstacle I’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry is the expectation of traditional storytelling. The motto of Sullied Bride Productions is, “Telling Our Stories Ourselves.” Men have dominated the narrative for so long that they have standardized the format of how to tell a story. Therefore, anything that does not fit into this standard format is met with resistance. It is almost automatic for men within the film industry to try to change the project as soon as I present a new idea. I stand my ground when it comes to creating a new image and as a result, I have faced a lot of rejection.

For example, in my first feature film The Curse of EVE the story begins with the Bride making preparations and getting married. In traditional storytelling, the story ends with the wedding and living “happily ever after.” However, when the story is told from the point of view of the woman what happens after the wedding becomes the central focus. The Curse of EVE challenges the “happily ever after,” narrative that has been pushed by male-storytelling and because of this, the film has received a lot of hostility. On the other hand, The Curse of EVE has received a lot of acclaim from women who are glad to have a story represent their point of view.

Another example of traditional story-telling being an obstacle in a male-dominated industry is in the censorship of my film, Natalie’s Abortion. Traditional story-telling is apologetic towards male violence against women. Topics like sexual assault an unwanted pregnancy are typically avoided as a way to deny the prevalence of male perpetrators. In the pre-production of Natalie’s Abortion the film was denied insurance because there was a rape scene. The censorship continued after the completion of the film when Natalie’s Abortion was removed from Amazon Prime, claiming “inappropriate content.” Although there are films on Amazon Prime that display full-frontal nudity and other forms of graphic violence, Amazon censored Natalie’s Abortion because the exposure of sexual violence presents a narrative from the point of view of a woman struggling with male violence as opposed to an apologetic traditional story of victim blaming.

Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?

Gaining acceptance among my male peers and general work community has mostly been about character. The pushback I have received has been mostly from men who lack character and espouse ideals about ruling over women. Rather than waste time trying to gain acceptance from those type of men, I work to make sure that those men do not have any influence over me or anyone else within my circle. On the other hand, when working with men who do have character I have gained their acceptance by being clear about what I want and by being professional about my delivery. Men with character have respected my capabilities and I make it a priority to live up to those expectations. With an understanding that I will deliver the product that I agreed to the men I’ve worked with will do everything they can to help with that vision. The same has applied to women involved in the film projects.

What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?

Male-oriented organizations can enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women by addressing the hostility and harassment women face in the workforce. In addition to sexual harassment being underreported, when the crime is reported often times little or nothing is done about the reports. The company may conduct an internal investigation, where the company itself decides that no wrong-doing has taken place. Afterwards the victim comes under scrutiny from the company, because she is viewed as a liability for lawsuits. She is often ridiculed by others and her co-workers who claim neutrally in the situation refuse to stand by her. There are plenty of qualified women who are available to work in typically male dominated fields, but many of them are rooted out through underhanded tactics of harassment and workplace hostility. If an organization seriously wants to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women, it can simply review and take legitimate action on any number of past complaints of sexual harassment and workplace hostility towards women.

Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

When women are a part of industries that are typically dominated by men, women often feel as though they have something to prove. The drive to prove that women are just as capable as men can overshadow what it means to be successful and thrive in a male dominated field. As a woman filmmaker, I have discovered five things needed to thrive and succeed in a male dominated industry. First, is the ability to cooperate with others without needing an emotional connection. Women tend to abandon projects when hurt feelings enter the picture. Although it is important to address feelings when they arise, in order to be successful women cannot be ruled by emotions. Typically, two men who don’t like each other can still work together on a project and focus on the overall objective, whereas women tend to be derailed by any personal angst against another woman. I have been in a situation where I have had a tremendous ideological difference with a woman. I adamantly disagreed with a number of things that had been said to me. However, aside from that situation I knew that we both had the same message and that getting that message out was much bigger than our disagreement. In order to succeed I had to corporate with her regardless of our lack of an emotional connection.

Next, success requires an unrelenting focus on the goal. A woman cannot be deterred when it comes to reaching her goals. There are a lot of time-wasters in any industry, but especially the film industry. People will intentionally attach themselves to a project so they can delay the production. In a film shoot, one absent person can stop the entire project. There have been times when I have gone out of my way to work around the availability of the actors and clearly laid out the film shoot schedule. Yet when the time came to begin production, a time-waster will suddenly claim that they cannot make it to the film shoot. A time-waster will expect the entire production to halt on account of them. Once someone is identified as an intentional time-waster in order to succeed, maintaining an unrelenting focus on the goal is key to overcoming the time-waster. When I encountered a time-waster who tried to worm into my production I had to quickly cut this person out and find a replacement. As a woman in a male-dominated industry I could not be distracted by engaging in a petty squabble with this time-waster. I had to simply assess the situation for what it was and move forward.

Thirdly, a woman must have clarity of who she is as a person. In male dominated industries a woman can perform the same tasks as a man, but be labeled a dictator or worse. She has to firmly know who she is so she does not internalize these attacks on her character. I have encountered many setbacks during production that I just had to quickly handle in order to complete the project. For a man to push through that situation he would have been called “focused.” I was called “callous” and “unprofessional,” by a time-waster after I removed this person from the project. Without clarity of who I am and the mission God has sent me on, I would have been devastated by these remarks. Knowing who I am and the value I bring to my work has fortified me against these types of attacks.

To thrive every woman needs a litmus test, a fast way to assess the intentions of the people around her. Some time-wasters may slip through the cracks, but one generally effective test I have developed is the “30-second information test.” If I have 30 seconds of information to convey to someone I take note of how long it takes to give out this information. A time-waster will take what should be a two-minute phone call and stretch it into a two-hour conversation. Time-wasters will create meeting after meeting, ask very detailed questions, but behave as though they still don’t understand what is going on when it is time to move. If it takes too long to convey a small amount of information it is likely that person is a time-waster.

Finally, a successful woman needs to assign a tangible value to her femininity. In male dominated industries, there is a tendency for women to try to be just as capable as a man, when in reality all a successful woman needs is to use the strength of her femininity to the fullest. As a director, I know it is only my job to direct a performance, not dictate. The feminine nature to nurture rather than use aggression has given me the ability to bring out award-winning performances from the actors with whom I have worked.

If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?

First and foremost, I would advise my female friend to be clear about what she wanted. Regardless of whether or not the field she entered was traditionally male-dominated or female-dominated, if she is not clear about what she wants she’ll be doomed to fail. To be truly empowered in her position she has to define herself by who she is, not by what she is not. Her motivations should be defined by knowing what she wants instead of trying to prove something. The final decision about which field she will enter should solely be based upon the career path that best suits her goals.

Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?

I have seen a lot of surface-level activism and virtue signaling for women working in male-dominated industries over the past years. With the cases of Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, there has been exposure of sexual harassment in the film and entertainment industry, but not enough effective action against these behaviors. In order for there to be effective changes for women in this industry there needs to be more legal action against offenders, and legitimate opportunities for qualified women to succeed. It was good that Harvey Weinstein was put in jail, but it is not enough. For every Harvey Weinstein there are hundreds of perpetrators who have not been brought to justice. These perpetrators exist in all levels of the industry and they work through subtlety. One experience I had with a male radio host was at a meet-and-greet. The second question out of his mouth was, “Are you married?” I do not answer personal questions in professional settings. Then, when it came time to set up an interview I never received any response back. Since everything in entertainment is subjective there is no way to prove that I didn’t hear from him because I refused to discuss my relationship status. However, the female colleague who did address his prying question later received a “you up,” text from him at 2am. She did not respond to his text and subsequently also did not receive any response when it was time to set up her interview. Legally, a late night text message is not enough to make a case for harassment, but the implications are clear. The subtlety of harassment and the subjective nature of working around certain men in the industry makes it difficult for women to succeed. In order to create meaningful change in the film industry for women, access to positions have to come from a more objective process. Opportunities need to be available through a public review of qualifications instead of a personal meeting with a single man who is connected to an establishment.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I would like to have a private breakfast with Elon Musk. I have faced issues with censorship from Amazon Prime with my film, Natalie’s Abortion. Elon Musk has been in the media for challenging Big Tech censorship. As a media giant backed by a billionaire, Amazon can easily steam-roll over smaller companies; even if their politically motivated censorship violates the Constitution. It would take another giant, or a greater force, to stop Amazon. I would like to have a private breakfast with Elon Musk to see if as a billionaire he would be up for the challenge to take on Amazon Prime and develop a censorship-free streaming platform for independent filmmakers.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.