The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media’s latest study considered the representation of Black women and girls in family entertainment over the past decade — and came to some encouraging conclusions. In family films, Black female characters are more likely to be portrayed as working in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) field (14.3 percent) than white women (9.6 percent) and other women of color (9.6 percent).

Black female characters are more likely to be depicted as hardworking (69.1 percent) and smart (54.1 percent) than white females (52.3 percent, 44.2 percent) and other women of color (50.7 percent, 42.6 percent). Black women (7.5 percent) and women of color (11.8 percent) are also less likely to be shown working in a service job, which the report notes is “a common racialized media stereotype,” than white women (15.2 percent).

In 2019 family television, the number of Black female leading characters (6.4 percent) was about commensurate with the U.S. population (6.5 percent). More Black female characters (40.9 percent) were shown to be leaders than white women (34.6 percent) and other women of color (36 percent). And again, Black women were more likely to work in STEM (5.6 percent) and be portrayed as smart (32.7 percent) than other female characters. Three percent of other WOC characters and 3.3 percent of white females worked in STEM, and, respectively, 22.2 percent and 26.4 percent were depicted as smart.

Unfortunately, not all of “Representations of Black Women in Hollywood’s” findings were as positive. The report concluded that colorism and Western notions of beauty are still common among Black female family film leads. Only 19 percent of Black leading ladies were dark-skinned, while the majority (57.1 percent) of Black film leads were shown “with hairstyles that conform to European standards of beauty as opposed to natural Black hairstyles.”

In film, Black women (13.5 percent) and other WOC (14.8 percent) are portrayed as partially/fully nude more often than white women (nine percent). Black female characters are more likely to be depicted as violent (29.3 percent) than white women (24.6 percent), and about twice as likely as other women of color characters (14.8 percent).

Looking at TV, Black females (5.2 percent) and other female characters of color (4.9 percent) are about twice as likely to be shown nude or partially nude as white females (2.5 percent). White women are more apt to have a job (89.6 percent) than Black women (70.5 percent) and other WOC characters (58.8 percent). And, in contrast to film, 56.3 percent of Black female TV characters work in the service industry — more than double the number of white females (26.4 percent) and other female characters of color (20.6 percent).

“This revealing new study shows we need to be more aware of the persistence of stereotypes affecting Black girls and women – and avoid repeating those mistakes when making writing, casting, and other content production decisions,” said Geena Davis, Founder and Chair of the Geena Davis Institute. “While it is encouraging to see some positive trends, it’s clear that much more work needs to be done to ensure that women of all backgrounds have the same opportunities when it comes to being depicted on screen.”

Key findings from “Representations of Black Women in Hollywood” are below. Find the full report here.

Black Female Leads in Family Films

• Black girls and women are 6.5% of the US population, but only 3.7% of leads/co-leads in the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade. This figure has improved in recent years.
• Only one-in-five (19.0%) of Black leading ladies from the past decade have a dark skin tone.
• Most Black leading ladies (57.1%) from popular films in the past decade are depicted with hairstyles that conform to European standards of beauty as opposed to natural Black hairstyles.

Black Female Characters in Family Films

Positive Film Findings

• Black girls and women are 6.5% of the US population, 6.1% of all characters, and 5.7% of leading characters in 2019 family films.
• Black female characters and other female characters of color are less likely to be portrayed as working in a service job (a common racialized media stereotype) than white female characters (7.5% and 11.8% compared to 15.2%).
• Black women are more likely to be depicted as working in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) occupation than other women of color and white women (14.3% compared to 9.6% and 9.6%, respectively).
• Black women are just as likely as white women to be shown as a leader (41.3% and 43.1%).
• Black female characters are far more likely to be shown as “smart” in family films than white female characters or other female characters of color (54.1% compared to 44.2% and 42.6%, respectively).
• Among female characters with occupations, Black women (69.1%) are more likely than white women (52.3%) or other women of color (50.7%) to be depicted as hard working.

Negative Film Findings

• When it comes to sexualization, Black women (13.5%) and other women of color (14.8%) are more likely to be depicted as partially/fully nude than white women (9.0%).
• Other women of color (56.9%) and white women (51.2%) are significantly more likely to be depicted as attractive than Black women (41.4%) in family films.
• Black female characters are more likely to be shown as violent than white female characters (29.3% compared to 24.6%) and twice as likely to be violent as other female characters of color (14.8%).
• In the top films, white women (27.2%) are more likely to be depicted as being in a romantic relationship than Black women (22.7%) or other women of color (25.9%).
• White women (16.9%) are more likely to have at least one sexual partner in films compared with Black women (13.3%) and other women of color (14.8%).

Black Female Characters in Family Television

Positive TV Findings

• Black girls and women are 6.5% of the US population, 6.2% of all characters, and 6.4% of leading characters in 2019 family TV.
• Black girls and women are more likely to be shown as attractive (48.5%) compared to other women of color (44.6%) or white women (41.6%).
• Black women are more likely to be shown in a STEM occupation (5.6%) than other women of color (3.0%) or white women (3.3%).
• More Black female characters are shown as leaders than other women of color or white women (40.9% compared with 36.0% and 34.6%, respectively).
• Black female characters are far more likely to be shown as “smart” in family television than other female characters of color and white female characters (32.7% compared to 22.2% and 26.4%, respectively).

Negative TV Findings

• Black female characters and other female characters of color are twice as likely as white female characters to be shown with a degree of nudity (5.2% and 4.9% compared with 2.5%).
• Compared to white female characters, Black female characters and other female characters of color are twice as likely to be shown in revealing clothing (10.7% and 8.7% compared with 4.5%).
• Black female characters are more likely than white female characters and other female characters of color to be verbally objectified by other characters in family TV (1.4% compared with 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively).
• White female characters are more likely to have an occupation (89.6%) than Black female characters (70.5%) or other female characters of color (58.8%).
• Black female characters are twice as likely as white female characters and other female characters of color to be shown in a service industry job (56.3% compared to 26.4% and 20.6%, respectively).
• Black women (5.6%) are less likely than white women (8.7%) and other women of color (11.0%) to be shown in a romantic relationship, but more likely to be shown as having at least one sexual partner.

Comparison of Black Female Characters in Family Films and Television

Sexualization and Objectification

• Black female characters are twice as likely to be shown wearing revealing clothing in family film than in family TV (20.3% compared with 10.7%).
• Black female characters are more than twice as likely to be shown as partially/fully nude in family films than in family TV (13.5% compared with 5.2%). In family films, Black female characters are seven times more likely to be visually objectified with camera angles than in family TV (6.7% compared with 0.9%).
• Black female characters are three times more likely to be verbally objectified by other characters in family films than in family TV (5.3% compared with 1.4%).

Work and Leadership

• Black women in family films are three times more likely to be shown as not having an occupation than in family TV (39.6% compared with 10.4%).
• Black women in family TV are seven times more likely to be working a service job than Black women in family films (56.3% compared to 7.5%).
• Black women in family films are nearly three times more likely to be shown in a STEM profession than Black women in family TV (14.3% compared to 5.6%).

Violence and Criminality

• Black female characters in family films are twice as likely to be shown as violent than Black female characters in family TV (29.3% compared with 13.0%).
• Family film has three times more criminal Black female characters as family TV (6.7% compared with 2.3%).

Character Traits

• Black female characters are more likely to be depicted as funny in family TV than family film (55.8% compared with 30.7%).
• A higher percentage of Black female characters are shown as smart in family films compared to family TV (54.1% compared to 32.7%).
• Black women are shown as harder working in family films than in family TV (69.1% compared with 43.4%).

Relationships and Sex

• Black women are four times more likely to be shown in a romantic relationship in family films than in family TV (22.7% compared with 5.6%).
• Black women are twice as likely to have at least one sexual partner in family films than in family TV (13.3% compared with 5.1%).