Let’s talk movies. They’re fun, right? But have you ever noticed how most of the lead roles are held by men? As it turns out, this isn’t just your imagination. In fact, a fresh study from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has revealed some pretty disappointing facts.
Women and Girls on the Big Screen
This study had a good look at 1,700 films and 5,084 speaking roles. The result? Only 32% of these roles were played by women or girls. That’s less than a third! What’s even tougher to swallow is that this is the lowest percentage since the study first kicked off in 2007. On the flip side, men snatched up a whopping 68.2% of the speaking roles, while non-binary characters scored less than 1%.
Behind the Scenes
But wait, there’s more. The film industry’s lack of inclusion isn’t just about who we see on screen. It’s also about who’s making the magic happen behind the scenes. The number of women working as directors, writers, composers, and producers hasn’t really increased since 2022. This says a lot about the bigger problems lurking within the industry’s framework.
Unbalanced Scales
Here’s a startling fact – only 11% of 2023’s top 100 movies were gender-balanced. That means that only one in ten movies featured an equal number of male and female speaking roles. This figure hasn’t changed since 2007. It seems clear that the film industry hasn’t been doing a great job of fixing this imbalance.
Under the Inclusive Lens
Our study also put other underrepresented groups under the lens. For instance, LGBTQ+ characters only accounted for 1.2% of all speaking roles in 2023’s top films. That’s unchanged since 2014. It’s also worth noting that just 3% of leads or co-leads were aged 45 or older, and only 2.2% of characters had a disability.
When it comes to representing trans characters, the score is zero. Over a nine-year period, from 2014 to 2023, not a single speaking role or named on-screen character was trans in the 200 top movies studied.
Painting a Diverse Picture
The study also looked at race and ethnicity. There hasn’t been much change since 2007, but there has been a decrease in the percentage of white characters from 78% to 56%. On the other hand, Asian characters rose from 3% to 18%. Yet, many specific racial and ethnic groups, like American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Middle Eastern/North African females, were barely represented.
Time for Change
So, how can the film industry make things better? Well, opening up to more inclusion is a great place to start. The study’s leader, Dr. Smith, says that the path to this hasn’t changed. But it’s all about the choices that industry execs and decision-makers make. If they don’t decide differently, we won’t see different results. However, it’s important to remember that the general resistance to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion could add to the challenge.
Final Thoughts
This study teaches us one thing: the film industry still has a lot to do to close gender and diversity gaps. It’s high time to take action and change the system so everyone’s stories can be heard both on-screen and off. Doing this, according to Dr. Smith, could help the film industry survive and thrive, while also better mirroring the diverse society in which we live. After all, in the real world, everyone deserves their moment in the spotlight.
For more details, visit Project Casting Blog on https://www.projectcasting.com/blog/news/usc-annenberg-study-women-in-film-roles-2023/