Women made up just 16% of directors on the 250 top-grossing films in 2023, and only 3.4% of them were women of color|UKinUSA|CC BY-SA 2.0
Two major studies on Hollywood’s diversity and inclusion practices show that studios have done little to nothing to address the underrepresentation of women and people of color (POC) behind the lens.
Despite the success of Barbie, which crossed a historic $1.34 billion in theater ticket sales worldwide, the two reports found that last year saw even fewer women directors compared to 2022.
What do the reports say?
USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s latest report says Hollywood’s pledges to promote inclusion are merely “performative acts” and “not real steps towards fostering change.”
A report from San Diego State University found that women made up just 16% of directors on the 250 top-grossing films in 2023, down from 18% in 2022, and only 3.4% were women of color.
The reports also found
- Women accounted for just 22% of all writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, and editors in the top 250 films, down from 24% in 2022.
- Almost 75% of top-grossing films employed 10 or more men in key, off-camera roles, compared to just 4% employing 10 or more women.
- POCs also saw limited improvement, with only 22.4% of directors from underrepresented groups in the top 100 grossing films of 2023.
The reports criticized Hollywood studios and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for making diversity pledges during the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements and not following through.
Silver lining
On the other hand, streaming giants like Netflix have shown improvement. Nearly 27% of the directors they hired in 2021 were women.