Paul Feig was part of a panel at the actor’s union LA headquarters last Wednesday along with Maria Bello, Caroline Suh, Tina Mabry, and Stacy L. Smith. The panel followed a screening of The 4%: Film’s Gender Problem, a series of shorts that address gender bias in Hollywood that you can learn more about here. The title refers to the amount of top movies directed by women. Smith, a professor at USC who’s headed studies on gender and Hollywood, said that influential stars should consider adding an equity clause to their contracts for a representative film team.

Feig, who’s been very vocal about gender equality in film and made several woman-led movies (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters), agreed, telling The Associated Press about the equity clause he’s going to incorporate in future film contracts: “I think we need to set these things in stone so it forces everybody to think that way.” The clause would require gender-balanced casting for minor roles.

When named the Leading Man at the Athena Film Festival, Feig said a lot of great things including “it shouldn’t be a groundbreaking thing to put women in movies” and “we won’t be patting ourselves on the back anytime soon.” It’s fantastic to see him not only acknowledge these issues, but also to see him continuously take action to make films more balanced.

(via Pajiba, Image via Paul Feig’s Twitter)

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