Film Industry Stereotypes Women, Says New Study

By an IPS Correspondent Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 2014 (IPS) - In a new study on women stereotypes, the global film industry has been accused of perpetuating discrimination against women.

The study, released last week, reveals deep-seated discrimination and pervasive stereotyping of women and girls by the international film industry.

The investigation analyzes popular films across the most profitable countries and territories internationally, including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, United States, United Kingdom, as well as UK-US collaborations, according to a press release.

The study was commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, with support from U.N. Women and The Rockefeller Foundation and conducted by Dr. Stacy L. Smith and her research team at the Annenberg School for Communication.

The team included Marc Choueiti and Dr. Katherine Pieper at the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California

While women represent half of the world’s population, less than one third of all speaking characters in film are female. Less than a quarter of the fictional on-screen workforce is comprised of female (22.5%).

When they are employed, females are largely absent from powerful positions. Women represent less than 15% of business executives, political figures, or science, technology, engineering, and/or math (STEM) employees.

“The fact is – women are seriously under-represented across nearly all sectors of society around the globe, not just on-screen, but for the most part we’re simply not aware of the extent. And media images exert a powerful influence in creating and perpetuating our unconscious biases”, said Geena Davis, Founder & Chair, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

“However, media images can also have a very positive impact on our perceptions. In the time it takes to make a movie, we can change what the future looks like. There are woefully few women CEOs in the world, but there can be lots of them in films. “

How do we encourage a lot more girls to pursue science, technology and engineering careers?

By casting droves of women in STEM, politics, law and other professions today in movies”, she added. Stereotyping also stifles women in prestigious professional posts. Male characters outnumber female characters as attorneys and judges (13 to 1), professors (16 to 1), and doctors (5 to 1).

In contrast, the ratios tipped in the favor of females when it came to hypersexualization.

Girls and women were over twice as likely as boys and men to be shown in sexualized attire, with some nudity, or thin.

“Females bring more to society than just their appearance,” said Dr. Stacy L. Smith the principal investigator. “These results illuminate that globally, we have more than a film problem when it comes to valuing girls and women. We have a human problem.”

While the report shows how discriminatory attitudes that affect women and girls are reflected in film worldwide, it also points to some significant differences among countries.

The frontrunners (U.K., Brazil, South Korea) feature female characters in 38 – 35.9% of all speaking roles on screen. UK-US collaborations and Indian films are at the bottom of the pack, clocking in at 23.6 percent and 24.9 percent female respectively.

Half of South Korean films featured a female lead or co-lead, as did 40 percent of the films analyzed from China, Japan, and Australia.

“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.

Two decades on, this study is a wake-up call that shows that the global film industry still has a long way to go”, said U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

“With their powerful influence on shaping the perceptions of large audiences, the media are a key player for the gender equality agenda. With influence comes responsibility. The industry cannot afford to wait another twenty years to make the right decisions”, she added.

Across the films assessed, women comprised nearly one in four filmmakers behind the camera (directors, writers, producers). Yet when films featured a female director or writer, the number of female characters on screen increased significantly.

One obvious remedy to gender disparity on screen is to hire more female filmmakers. Another approach is calling on film executives to have a heightened sensitivity to gender imbalance and stereotyping on screen.