Inspiring women from the world of film

Marking International Women’s Day

Everyday life is often not like a film. Thousands of women know that, who juggle various roles day after day: mother, wife, employee, friend... Sometimes they also inspire film artists, who bring great stories about strong women to the screen, thus influencing millions of women around the world. This year, on the occasion of International Women's Day, we will remember the films in which women have the main role and connect them with, of course, statistical data about women.

Every woman is Wonder Woman

Although there is only one Wonder Woman in the world of comics and films, we like to say that all women are wonderful and that each of them has their own superpowers, including women in Croatia, the number of which amounted to 1 995 130, according to mid-2022 population estimate. They accounted for 51.7% of the total population, and their average age was 46.0.

When strong female roles in the world of film are mentioned, one of the first associations for many is Erin Brockovich, the character of a single mother and unemployed woman who fights the system in unenviable conditions and manages to defeat it with her persistence and firmness. Although we cannot directly link her figure to the following data, let us mention that according to the 2021 Census, 178 851 families in Croatia consisted of a mother with children.

The story of the destinies of four sisters with different personalities who bravely shape their own life paths is told in the movie Little Women, and we would dare to conclude that there are many inspiring girls and women in Croatia as well in families with four female children. According to the 2021 Census, there were 1 000 of them.

From an artist to an entrepreneur to a scientist - one can do it all

That women often face obstacles in business, even in 2024, is unfortunately not a surprise. There are many films about women who changed history with their business ventures, but for this presentation, we have chosen the one whose title best describes it - Hidden Figures. It is a true story from the 1960s, when a group of African-American female mathematicians played an important role in NASA's success. Fortunately, women in science today are no longer such a rarity. In 2022, there were 8 439 female researchers in Croatia, and they accounted for 48.4% of the total number of researchers.

A woman who does not give up on her dreams, a single mother who fights against the prejudices and judgments of the environment, uniting the locals and seducing them with sweet flavours, is described in the film Chocolate. The main character - a charming and dedicated owner of a chocolate shop - today would be called an entrepreneur and a craftswoman. Therefore, we have extracted figures on women employed in crafts and trades in the last eight years.



We have listed some of the inspiring working women in the world of film. But the one who excels in every profession and role is Barbie. It is the film that marked 2023, which definitely highlights the role of a woman in modern society. The most famous doll in history proved that she can be anything - a teacher, a saleswoman, a dancer, a scientist, a mother, a business woman, a health worker... That is why the following graph presents the share of women by activities.



Sometimes we all wish to be princesses and heroines

How a woman can grow and develop when she opens the door to opportunities for herself is shown in the film Eat, Pray, Love, in which the main female character begins her life change with a single trip. Maybe it was the same for some of the 757.5 thousand women from Croatia who went on at least one private trip in 2022, thus realising a total of 2.0 million trips. Out of that, 72% of trips were realised in Croatia, on which they spent an average of 220 euro, while 28% were realised abroad, where they spent an average of 403 euro.

A cult film that celebrates the right of choice, freedom, but above all female friendship. Thelma and Louise were behind the wheel of this successful film, and we will mention that the share of female drivers in 2022 in the Republic of Croatia was 42.7%.

At the end of this film-statistical review, we also left room for the youngest. Animated films accompany us throughout our lives. While as little girls we imagined ourselves as princesses and heroines, in adulthood, the main female characters of animated films remind us of positive life values and restore our faith in good. In recent years, little heroines such as Merida the Brave, Mulan and Moana have come to the fore, and there is probably no girl who has not imagined herself as one of the sisters Anna and Elsa, the characters of the Frozen film. We do not know if these daring princesses inspired some parents, but we do know that in Croatia, according to the 2021 Census, 65 291 women were named Ana, 309 of them Elza, and 45 Elsa.

Dear women, be the main character of your own film. And just like every film has an introduction, a plot, a climax and a denouement, we wish you an interesting life story with always a happy ending and that you come out of every life plot as a super-heroine. Happy International Women's Day!

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