THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE U.S MEDIA 2015

WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER
Filmmaker gender and
character gender on screen
30.2%
37%
Directors
BTS female
27.9%
35.4%
Writers
No BTS female
Source: USC Annenberg School for Communication and
Journalism Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative
Graphic produced by the Women’s Media Center
Within that sampling of filmmakers, females
comprised 7 percent of movie directors,
19.7 percent of writers and 22.7
percent of producers.
When a film had a female director or female
writer, the number of women and
girls on the screen spiked.
Girls and women were twice as likely as
boys and men to be shown in sexually
revealing clothing, to be partially or fully
naked or ultra-thin. They were five times
as likely as males to be described as attractive.
Females aged 13 to 20 and aged 21 to 39
were equally likely to be sexualized.
Male characters playing lawyers and judges outnumbered female characters in the
same roles by 13 to 1. By 16 to 1, there were more male characters playing university
professors and, by 5 to 1, more male characters playing physicians.
Those spearheading this project drew parallels between the status of women in film
internationally and the status of women throughout the global workplace, including in
politics, science and the corporate C-suite.
When women, particularly powerful ones, are portrayed in movies, that changes career
norms and raises women’s occupational prospects, these advocates argue.
Sexualization of female characters by age
Measures Teens Adults Middle aged
In sexy attire 35.6% 32.4% 14.9%
With exposed skin 33.3 31.7 14.9
Beautiful 20.1 16.8 4.8
Depicted thin 55 45.9 11.3
Note: Cells represent the percentage of speaking characters within an age bracket that were shown in a particular light. For
instance, 35.6% of teenaged females were depicted in sexy attire. This also means that 64.4% were not shown in revealing
clothing.
Source: USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Media, Diversity and Social Change Initiative
“Twenty years ago, 189 governments adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, the international
roadmap for gender equality, which called on media to avoid stereotypical
and degrading depictions of women,” said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka, of South Africa, in a news release announcing the report. “With their
powerful influence on shaping the perceptions of large audiences, the media are key
players for the gender equality agenda. With influence comes responsibility. The industry
cannot afford to wait another 20 years to make the right decisions.”
Said Rockefeller Foundation Associate Director Sundaa Bridgett-Jones: “The evidence
is even clearer now that what we see on-screen reflects the off-screen realities of women’s
lives all too well.”
The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 TOC womensmediacenter.com 57