I was at one of my first networking lunches, with lots of important filmmakers in attendance. During a break I happened to strike up a conversation with the first woman who was able to join the cinematographer’s guild. She said that she’d had all the qualifications for years, and had applied long before she got in, but that the man in charge of membership refused to let her join, telling her, “Over my dead body!” “Oh my god,” I asked her, “How did you ever get in?“ 

“He died.”