Research
“Boxed In 2018-19” TV Study Reports Increases in Women’s On and Offscreen Representation
Here’s some welcome news to kick off the fall TV season: the number of women on both sides of the camera increased during the 2018-19 season. The latest “Boxed In” report from Dr....
Women of Color Led or Co-Led 11 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, According to New Research
As we’re all well aware, women are very much underrepresented on the big screen. However, according to new research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, there is...
Latina Characters Missing from 70 of 2018’s Top 100 Films, Study Finds
New research from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative — in partnership with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Wise Entertainment — has...
Study: Just 14% of Past Decade’s Sci-Fi and Superhero Films Featured Solo Female Leads
Last year a study from Women’s Media Center (WMC) and BBC America concluded that female representation in superhero and sci-fi stories can have an empowering effect on girls in the real world. This...
Number of Women Directors, Writers, & More at U.S. Film Fests Reaches Historic High
The number of women at film festivals such as SXSW, Tribeca, and AFI Fest is reaching a critical mass. Dr. Martha M. Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film have published...
Raising Films Survey: Carers Aren’t Getting Support They Need from the Industry
Raising Films recently conducted a survey “to query the particular impact that caring responsibilities have on those within the [film industry], focusing on those who care for people other than...
Study: Just Four Women Among Directors of the Top Animated Films 2007-2018
The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative presented its latest research today at the Women in Animation World Summit, held as part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The report,...
Thumbs Down Report 2019: Women Critics Still Outnumbered by Men Two to One
The gender gap in film criticism is, unfortunately, holding firm. Dr. Martha Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film have released their annual “Thumbs Down”...
New Study From 5050×2020 Finds Significant Gender Gap in French Film Criticism
It’s been a year since 5050×2020 introduced the Gender Parity Pledge at Cannes, but the equality collective’s work is far from over. Since Cannes 2018, 5050×2020 has...
Report: Top Studios and Talent Agencies’ Leadership Lagging in Inclusion
Throughout the past year or so, the film industry has seen several gains in terms of inclusivity. Sixteen black directors worked on top-grossing movies in 2018, a 12-year high. Last year also marked...
WGA Inclusion Report Card: There Is “Systemic Discrimination” in Hiring of TV Writers
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) has issued an Inclusion Report Card for the 2017-2018 TV season, and it seems writers’ rooms are still struggling to make the grade when it comes to...
MPAA Report 2018: Women Represent 51% of Moviegoers, 47% of Ticket Buyers
The MPAA’s annual study of the theatrical and home entertainment market environment is here, and it once again shows that women represent large shares, or even majorities, of movie and...
Survey: 64% of Diverse TV Writers Have Encountered Discrimination on the Job
A new survey findings’ reveal that diverse writers are routinely isolated, tokenized, and mistreated in contemporary writers rooms. The Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity (TTIE) interviewed...
Number of Women Directors in France Is Increasing, Study Finds
“Captain Marvel’s” record-breaking debut was in good company on International Women’s Day. March 8 also saw the publication of a new study concluding that the number of women...
2019 Diversity Report: Women & POC Make Progress But Are Still Largely Underrepresented
UCLA’s College of Social Sciences has released its latest Diversity Report. Once again, the study reveals women and people of color are making strides on both sides of the camera, but overall,...
Study: 31 Percent of 2018’s Top-Grossing Films Featured a Female Protagonist
“2018 may be remembered as the year in which things were not quite as they appeared for female characters,” Dr. Martha Lauzen said of her analysis of women’s representation in last...
Research: 2018 Marked Major Improvement for On-Screen Inclusion in Top Films
Finally, some encouraging stats for women and people of color in film. After concluding, in an earlier 2019 report, that the number of women directors hadn’t budged in 12 years, Dr. Stacy L....
Study: Women Represent 25 Percent of Non-Acting 2019 Oscar Nominees
Another year, another Oscars ceremony dominated by male nominees. The Women’s Media Center (WMC) has released its annual study of gender representation among the non-acting Academy Award...
Berlinale Breaks Down 2019 Gender Stats in New Report
The 69th annual Berlinale begins today and, while the fest will not officially sign the Gender Parity Pledge until Saturday, it’s already stepping up its transparency efforts. The Berlin...
Less Than 20% of Top Musical Artists in 2018 Were Women, Study Finds
A new Time’s Up/Annenberg Inclusion Initiative challenge might be in order. The latter has released its second “Inclusion in the Recording Studio?” report, a study of gender and race...
Study: Sundance Boasts Impressive Pipeline of Women & POC Directors, But Still Has Work to Do
Sundance 2019 is in full swing but the Sundance Institute isn’t resting on its laurels. Far from it. The org released a study with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, entitled...
Report: Black Male Directors Made Major Gains in 2018, Number of Women Plateaued Again
The good news: The number of black directors working on top-grossing films reached a 12-year high in 2018. Sixteen black helmers, including “Black Panther’s” Ryan Coogler and...
2018 Celluloid Ceiling Report: Number of Women Directors on Top 250 Films Falls to 8%
New year, same story. Dr. Martha Lauzen and the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film has released a new report, “The Celluloid Ceiling: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women on...
Study: Women Directors and Women Playwrights Reached New Highs Off Broadway in 2017-18
The League of Professional Theatre Women has released a new report on the status of women in Off Broadway theater. “Women Count: Women Hired Off Broadway,” written by Martha Wade...
DGA Report: Women-Directed Eps Up 14% in 2017-18, POC-Directed Eps Stagnant
The good news: women directed 25 percent of all TV episodes in the 2017-18 season and people of color helmed 24 percent, up from last year’s 21 and 22, respectively. The bad news: in terms of...
New Study Finds Women-Driven Superhero and Sci-Fi Stories Empower Girls
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: representation matters. A major reason — if not the major reason — “Wonder Woman” and “Hidden Figures” are...
Research: Losses for Women Onscreen and Off in 2017-18 TV Season
Despite the premieres of series such as “Vida,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and “Killing Eve,” the 2018-17 TV season...
Study: Women Wrote Only 21% of Reviews on 2015-17’s Top Films, POC Just 17%
A new study from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative shows that, unfortunately, the severe underrepresentation of women critics and critics of color found in...
DGA Report: Women and POC First-Time TV Directors Made Gains in 2017-18 Season
Sometimes the fight to make the entertainment industry more inclusive can feel downright Sisyphean. Thankfully, that’s not always the case, as the Directors Guild of America’s (DGA)...
Research: Hollywood Inclusion “Remains Unchanged”
“The rhetoric in Hollywood may be changing when it comes to inclusion, but the numbers are not,” according to a press release announcing the findings of a new study. The report hails...
WGA West Survey: 64% of Female Writers Have Encountered Workplace Sexual Harassment
A month after WGA East released the findings of a sexual harassment survey given to its members, its sister union, WGA West, has published the results of its own survey. Unfortunately, the West...
Study: Male Film Reviewers Outnumber Females Two to One
Last month a headline-making study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative revealed just how overrepresented white male film critics were among the reviews of 2017’s top movies. (Spoiler...
Research: New DGA Study Shows Lack of Opportunity for Women and Minority Feature Directors
“From the largest studio tent poles to the smallest indie films, diversity among feature film directors remained low in 2017,” a press release announcing the findings of a comprehensive...
Study Shows Wide Gender Gap Persists on Telefilm Canada’s Big Budget Pics
The good news: Telefilm Canada’s goal of closing its movies’ off-screen gender gap by 2020 has resulted in tangible change. The bad news: the gap is still stubbornly wide on...
New Research Reveals Film Markets Are a Boys’ Club
The movies accessible to viewers often come down to film markets at major festivals. High-profile fests such as Cannes host markets where sales and distribution professionals present, buy, or pass...
New Study Finds Film Reviewers are “Overwhelmingly White and Male”
The importance of underrepresented voices on-screen and behind the scenes is finally gaining traction in mainstream media, but a significant piece of the puzzle is often overlooked: the influence of...
Study: Pay Disparity and Harassment Prevalent in Women-Dominated Crafts Jobs
Hollywood obviously has a women problem — that’s no secret. However, when we discuss gender inequality in show business, higher-profile positions, such as actors, directors, producers,...
Study: The Number of Women Screenwriters in the UK Has Barely Changed in 10 Years
In 2017 women represented 11 percent of the writers on the United States’ top 250 films. They accounted for 33 percent of television writers during the States’ 2016-17 season. Obviously,...
New Research Spotlights Cannes’ Long-Standing Gender Disparity
This weekend 82 women ascended the steps of the Palais de Festival in Cannes to raise awareness around the fest’s history of excluding women directors. Since Cannes kicked off in 1946 only 82...
Study: Women Underrepresented Behind the Scenes in Off Broadway Plays
The League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW), a not-for-profit that advocates for gender equality in theater, onstage and off, has published its latest study. The report, titled “Women...
MPAA Report 2017: Women-Centric Films Dominate and Females Account for 50 Percent of Moviegoers
Women continued to be a major presence and spending force at the movies last year. The MPAA has published its THEME — theatrical and home entertainment market environment — report for...
Women and POC Led the Box Office’s Top Films for 11 of the Past 12 Weekends
This year’s box office numbers are deliciously proving what we and many others have been saying all along: Diversity and inclusivity always come out on top. Per a report via CNN, revenue data...
Only 3.3 Percent of 2018’s Studio Films Are Women-Directed
“A Wrinkle in Time” is part of the 3.3 percent: Disney “A Wrinkle in Time,” “The Darkest Minds,” and “Blockers” — those are the only women-directed studio films you can look...
2018 Diversity Report: Women & POC Make Gains But Remain Woefully Underrepresented
To paraphrase Ava DuVernay, there have been several encouraging “moments” in Hollywood recently — including the successes of “Girls Trip,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Black...
Study: Number of Female Protagonists in Top 100 Films Dipped to 24 Percent in 2017
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Wonder Woman” were the three highest-grossing films at the domestic box office in 2017. Unfortunately, according to new research...
Study: Women Received Just 23 Percent of Non-Acting Oscar Noms This Year
Yeah, we’re not impressed, either, Tonya: Oscar nominee Margot Robbie in “I, Tonya” The 2018 Academy Award nominations are marked by a few milestones. “Mudbound’s” Rachel Morrison is the...
USA TODAY Surveys Women in Hollywood, Finds 94 Percent Have Been Harassed or Assaulted
Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke last fall and the rise of #MeToo and Time’s Up, the cultural conversation has been focused on sexual misconduct in show business. So it’s no secret that...
Study: Women Are Underrepresented Onscreen and Off in Korean Film
The Korean Film Commission has released the findings from a study on Korean movies released in 2017 — and the numbers show an obvious gender disparity on both sides of the camera. As Soompi...
Study: Women Are Being Shut Out of Popular Music
We’re living in the time of Queen Bey, but the music industry has yet to receive the memo. The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has released a new study on popular music and found that, while...
2017 Celluloid Ceiling Report: Number of Women Behind the Scenes Has Barely Shifted in 20 Years
Less than a week after the publication of the latest “Inclusion in the Director’s Chair?” report comes another in-depth study about women’s representation in 2017 film. The research, Dr....
New Research: The Needle Hasn’t Moved for Women Directors Over Past 11 Years
Patricia Riggen is the only Latina to direct a top-grossing movie from 2007 to 2017: patriciariggen.com 2017 brought us the Women’s March and #MeToo but, as new research shows, there’s still a...