Annenberg Study: Lead Roles for Women Dropped 14% From 2022 to 2023

“If the industry wants to survive its current moment, it must examine its failure to employ half the population,” USC’s Dr. Stacy L. Smith says

Joy Ride (2023)
"Joy Ride" (Lionsgate)

There were 14% fewer girls and women in leading roles in 2023 films compared to the previous year, a new study by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has found.

Their annual report, “Inequality in 1,700 Popular Films,” crunched representation stats for the 100 most popular films from 2007 to 2023 — tabulating for gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ+ identity and disability.

Looking just at the top movies of 2023 — famously the year of “Barbie” — the study found that only 32% of speaking characters were girls or women and only 11% featured girls and women in at least 45% of all speaking roles.

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