Representation of women in Hollywood is at its lowest levels in a decade

Hollywood invested in male-dominated films last year, as the number of female roles in films reached its lowest level in a decade.

Researchers from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative tracked the 100 highest-grossing films from 2007 to 2023, and discovered who dominates the Hollywood film industry, on and off the screen.

The findings took stock of the “Barbie mania” that has dubbed 2023 “the Year of the Woman” in Hollywood, and revealed what lead researcher Stacey L. Smith called “the catastrophic decline of girls and women in cinema.”

According to researchers, only 30 of the top 100 films of 2023 featured a female lead or co-star. This was the lowest number in a decade, down 14 percent from 2022’s record high of 44.

The representation of women behind the screen was even worse: of these 30 films, only 36.7 percent were directed by women.

Smith said the research’s findings were “astounding and directly contradict” the Hollywood narrative that 2023 is the “Year of the Woman.”

“These numbers are more than just a measure of how often girls and women play lead roles. They represent the career opportunities available to women in the film industry,” Smith said.

“This year, we’ve found that those opportunities have been significantly reduced. Even by looking at the films that were moved to 2024 due to the strike, we can’t explain the collapse of female roles in 2023 other than to say that this is a failure of the industry.”

Underrepresented groups

There was a slight increase in the number of people from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups appearing in Hollywood films as of 2023. Thirty-seven of the top 100 films had a lead/co-star in a role from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, Compared to 31 films in 2022. (51.3 percent) were directed by an underrepresented director.

However, the number of women of color leading films as of 2023 was alarmingly low. There were only 14 films that had a woman of color in the lead/co-starring role, compared to 18 films in 2022.

Katherine Neff, the study’s lead author, said she was disappointed by the findings that women of color were severely underrepresented.

“The film industry still does not show up for girls and women, and the decline in the advancement of women of color in leadership roles is disappointing,” Neff said.

“This applies not only to young women of color, but also to underrepresented women of middle age and older, whose stories are often erased entirely.”

Who is making the most progress?

Smaller film studios listed as “other distributors” in the study, along with Walt Disney and Warner Bros., have the highest percentage of potential customers who are not actors or actors involved in their films.

“There is a clear connection between who works behind the camera and who we see on screen, yet opportunities are still limited for women and people of color,” said Stacy Smith.

Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate had the lowest number of underrepresented actors or co-stars in their films last year, at 22.2 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

However, Smith and the researchers found that no Hollywood studio achieved proportional representation with the US Census numbers (41.1 percent).

In the wake of numerous social movements pushing for policy and legislative change, “storytelling is more important than ever,” she said.

“The entertainment industry can play an important role in our democracy to support diverse and inclusive voices both on screen and behind the camera — but that’s not what we see happening this year,” Smith said.

“Change is needed, and quickly. Let entertainment become another institution that falls under outdated, biased and exclusionary rhetoric.”