Number Of Women In Leading Roles Hits 10-Year Low

The number of girls and women in leading film roles has hit a 10-year low, according to a new study from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

Diversity, equality and inclusion efforts in Hollywood have “failed women” from all backgrounds, as 2023 saw only 30 films feature a female-identified lead or co-lead. 

The percentage of films with girls/women in leading roles has fallen back to levels “not seen since the mid-2010s.”

The USC study examines the gender, race/ethnicity, and age of leads and co-leads in popular films across North America. This includes 1,700 films with a focus on the 100 highest-earning fictional films released from 2007 to 2023. 

It stressed that “2023 is the same story retold,” describing the last twelve months as “shocking to those who anticipated a banner year for women.”

This is despite the critical and commercial success of Barbie, which has grossed over $1.4 billion at the global box office and has been nominated for eight Academy Awards.

“It is a difficult lesson but one that must be restated: one film does not represent progress across the industry and cannot bear the burden of lifting the industry to inclusion,” according to the study's authors Katherine L.Neff, Dr Stacy L. Smith, and Dr Katherine Pieper. 

They added that “until the industry stops hiding behind a single exemplar, change will remain elusive.” 

The gap widens further when considering women protagonists who are 45 years or older as they are dismissed and deemed unmarketable by Hollywood, according to the report. 

It comes a month after the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University found that women are still underrepresented behind the camera, and called pledges to promote inclusion “performative acts” rather than steps towards “fostering change.”

Approximately 16% of directors on the 250 top-grossing films in 2023 were women, which has fallen from 18% in 2022.