University Study Finds Lack of Gender Diversity in Hollywood’s Top-Grossing Films

A new analysis conducted by researchers at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, finds that women are underrepresented as characters in the 100 top-grossing films for the years 2007 to 2014.

The study examined more than 30,000 speaking roles in the 100 top-grossing films for each year of the study. The results showed that in 2014 women were just 28.1 percent of all characters with speaking roles in these films. This was the lowest percentage in any of the seven years studied. In all seven years, women had less than one third of all speaking roles. More than one quarter of all women with speaking roles in the 100 top-grossing films of 2014 were shown in some degree of nudity.

The authors of the report conclude that “movies depict female characters as younger and more sexualized than their male counterparts. This focus on youth and beauty restricts both the career opportunities of female actors and the range of stories that are told.”

Gender inequality in the film industry is not limited to actors. In 2014, women were 1.9 percent of the directors and 11.2 percent of the writers associated with the 100 top-grossing films. Over the seven years, women directed 28 of the 700 top-grossing films.

The full report, Inequality in 700 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race and LGBT Status From 2007 to 2014, may be downloaded by clicking here.