Women's Equality Day: The State of Gender Equality in the Industry - New York Women in Film & TelevisionNew York Women in Film & Television

Each year on August 26th, Women’s Equality Day commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women in the United States the right to vote. In the spirit of this important day, we’re taking time to reflect on the progress that has been made towards a more inclusive and equal film and television industry, but also the areas that still need improvement.

Although the past few years have brought some successes, such as balanced numbers of top films with male and female protagonists, progress has generally been very slow. Behind and in front of the camera, there are still huge gaps in the amounts of opportunities and representation accessible to women.

We’ve taken a look back on some statistics and patterns from the past few years, in order to assess the current state of gender equality in the industry.

Historic Gender Parity in Leading Roles

A recent study from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative analyzed the 100 top-grossing domestic narrative films each year from 2007 to 2024, taking stock of where women and other underrepresented groups stand in the industry today. The study found that in 2024, the number of top 100 films with a female protagonist was at a record high, greater than the number of top films with a male protagonist for the first time.

(Courtesy of Dr. Stacy L. Smith and The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative)

However, Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, founder and executive director of SDSU’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, pointed out in another study that because these statistics only examine the top 100 films, small changes can alter results drastically, and the level of female representation in broader categories, such as all speaking characters, remains stable and less equal.

Overall Progress is Slow

Outside of this statistic about leading roles, the USC study was largely discouraging. It reiterated the general finding that overall progress has been slow, and many areas of representation are still sorely lacking. The ratio of males to females on screen is 1.97 males to every 1 female, and non-binary individuals made up only 0.18% of characters across all films in the study.

Behind the camera, as well, women were underrepresented:

(Courtesy of Dr. Stacy L. Smith and The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative)

Dr. Lauzen released a study this year drawing on her annual gender equality report Living Archive: The Celluloid Ceiling, which she has been conducting since 1998. Her main takeaway was that, while gains have been made in the number of women working on films behind-the-scenes, these gains are small and often fluctuate up and down year-to-year.

Women’s Behind-the-Scenes Employment on the 250 Top (Domestic) Grossing Films in Every Year from 1998 through 2024 (includes Directors, Writers, Producers, Executive Producers, Editors, Cinematographers). Courtesy of Dr. Martha M. Lauzen.

Percentages of women working in behind-the-scenes roles on the 250 top (domestic) grossing films between 1998 and 2024:

Women editors stayed at 20%
Women producers rose from 24% to 27%
Women executive producers rose from 18% to 22%
Women writers rose from 13% to 20%
Women directors rose from 9% to 16%
Women cinematographers rose from 4% to 12%

Gender Equity in Television

Women have also faced recent setbacks in the television industry, with the 2023-24 year continuing downward trends in representation. Dr. Lauzen’s Boxed In report annually catalogues representation and employment of women in television, and recently found that in 2023-24, the percentage of women who held the position of creator on an original television series declined for the second year in a row, for both streaming and broadcast shows.

(Courtesy of Dr. Martha M. Lauzen)

Intersectional Representation

Intersectional representation is even scarcer, according to the USC study. Only 14 of the 2024 top films feature a female lead/co lead from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group, and numbers of LGBTQ+ and disabled characters remain small, as well.

(Courtesy of Dr. Stacy L. Smith and The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative)

Award Representation and Equality

The past few years have seen some of the highest rates of women being recognized for their achievements in the industry through top awards, but again, this progress has been small when looking at the bigger picture. In 2025, only 27% of Oscar nominations went to women, less than last year’s 32%, and 2021’s all-time high of 33%. Less than 6% of nominees were women of color in 2025, also a decrease from previous years.

(Statistics from the 2025 Oscars nominations. Courtesy of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s Inclusion List)

The Role of Gender Equity Policies and DEI Programs

A study done in 2024 analyzing gender equity policies in the film industries of Germany, the UK, and Canada noted that the number of policies has grown considerably since 2013/14, accompanied by rising awareness of the struggles women and gender non-conforming filmmakers face at a structural level.

However, these changes are happening at an incredibly slow speed. At the current rate of progress, 50/50 gender equity will be reached in 2041 in Germany, 2085 in the UK, and 2215 in Canada (almost 200 years from now).

In the United States, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs are currently facing a lot of pushback, making it even more difficult for the industry to support women and other underrepresented groups, as noted by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.