Discover the startling global gender disparities in cinema with our investigative report, “Gender Bias Without Borders,” which examines the representation of female characters in films across 11 countries.

“Gender Bias Without Borders” reveals significant underrepresentation and stereotyping of women in international films. This extensive study analyzes over 120 films from countries including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The report evaluates gender prevalence, roles, and portrayal in cinema, shedding light on the pervasive inequality that remains in global media.

Key Findings

  • Only 30.9% of speaking characters across the studied films are female.
  • Female characters are frequently sexualized, with 23% in revealing clothing and 24.2% depicted partially or fully naked.
  • Female representation in leadership or high-status jobs remains abysmally low, with only 13.9% of executive roles and 9.5% of high-level politicians being women.
  • Films from countries like Korea, Brazil, and the UK slightly exceed the global average for female representation, yet still fall short of real-world gender ratios.

Recommendations

  • Increase the presence of female characters in films to reflect actual societal demographics.
  • Encourage and support female filmmakers, which correlates with higher on-screen female presence.
  • Expand the diversity of roles available to women, moving beyond stereotypical portrayals to include more characters in STEM, leadership, and other non-traditional roles.