2023 Was the Worst Year for Women in Film Since 2007, Study Finds

by

2023 Was the Worst Year for Women in Film Since 2007, Study Finds

As a film enthusiast with over three decades of experiencing the silver screen, I must say that I am disheartened by the latest findings from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s annual report. Despite the optimism of our greatest living gender generalist, it appears we are still far from achieving true representation in Hollywood – or any industry, for that matter.

The renowned gender expert contends that we’re fortunate to be part of a female-dominated world, but contrary to his perspective, findings from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s yearly study suggest that it remains predominantly ruled by white men, particularly in Hollywood. While this could apply to many industries or situations within the United States and perhaps other English-speaking nations, for brevity and avoiding debates with the expert, we’ll focus on the current topic instead.

The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in their latest annual report as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, examined inequality across gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability in 1,700 popular films released between 2007 and 2023. Unfortunately, the findings suggest that progress has been slow. When focusing on the top 100 films of 2023 (the most successful movies), only 30 of them had female or adolescent protagonists, which is a decrease from 44 in the previous year. This number is concerning, and it’s worth noting that even counting co-protagonists brings the total to just 30.

Hold onto your butts because it only gets worse from there.

Representation Isn’t Getting Better – It’s Getting Worse

In simpler terms, it’s been over a decade since gender representation on screen has been this poor, with only one out of five top movies in 2007 having women as leads or co-leads. Translated another way, men appeared twice as often as women in the leading roles of the top films released in 2023. However, it’s worth noting that women make up more than half of the U.S. population.

Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, highlighted in a related statement that Hollywood is only producing a limited number of movies – typically just one or two – featuring female leads each year.

“Regardless of how you analyze the statistics, 2023 did not embody the ‘Year of Women‘ in media. Consistently, we observe similar patterns regarding girls and women’s representation on-screen, year after year. It appears that the industry either underestimates women as a significant audience or resists instigating substantial changes, or both. For the entertainment industry to thrive during this critical period, it is crucial to scrutinize its lack of gender balance in front of the camera.”

Every year, one or two movies “prove” that audiences will see movies made by, for, and starring women. In 2023, it was . In 2011, it was Bridesmaids. There was also Wonder Woman, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Woman King, The Hunger Games, and on and on – remember The Silence of the Lambs? From 1991?! More than 30 years later, and we’re still litigating whether people want to see movies with female leads, despite mountains of box-office data demonstrating just that.

Over an span of 17 years, spanning approximately 1,700 movies, merely 123 were helmed by female directors, with only 25 of these directors being women of color. In the year 2023, out of the 303 writers credited in the top 100 films, a mere 15.2% were women. It’s worth noting that this report highlights a correlation between female directors and leading female characters:

In movies where a woman is the director, there’s a higher probability of having more female characters speaking and serving as leads or co-leads compared to films without a woman in the director’s chair. Specifically, these women-directed films featured 43.1% female speaking characters versus 30.2% in movies with male directors. Also, 75% of women-directed films had female leads or co-leads compared to just 22.2% for those without a woman director.

As a woman who has spent my entire career navigating a predominantly male-dominated industry, I can attest to the truth behind the statement that hiring more women often leads to more women being represented in the workforce. On the contrary, I’ve also experienced firsthand the consequences of hiring mostly white men, which results in a lack of diversity and opportunities for underrepresented groups like myself. It’s bizarre how something as simple as who gets hired can have such a profound impact on representation and inclusion within an organization.

Read More

2024-08-06 00:34