\n\tAfter nearly 20 years of tracking representation metrics, the latest report from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reveals that Hollywood\u2019s film industry has not made lasting progress towards inclusion. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhile we\u2019ve seen pockets of progress for women on screen, the pace of change has been slow. Year after year, many of the same patterns remain,\u201d Dr. Smith said in a statement about the study. \u201cIncremental improvement is important for achieving meaningful transformation, but after nearly 2 decades of research and advocacy from many groups, it is clear that the industry is content to wait for change to find them rather than pursuing solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith\u2019s statement accompanies the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative\u2019s annual report, titled \u201cInequality in 1,900 Popular Films,\u201d which examines representation and inclusion metrics for the 100 top-grossing films of 2025. The study evaluates representation on camera (based on gender, race\/ethnicity, the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities) and behind the scenes (the gender and race\/ethnicity of directors, writers, producers, composers and casting directors), adding to a dataset that began in 2007.<\/p>\n
\n\tSome key takeaways from the study include that, despite comprising just over 50% of the U.S. population, in 2025, just 33.6% of all speaking or named characters were women and girls. Remarkably, that figure hasn\u2019t changed much in 19 years (29.9% in 2007). In terms of lead or co-lead roles, women and girls have seen progress (38 films in 2025 compared to 20 in 2007), but the figure dipped from the 19-year high of 55 lead\/co-lead roles in 2024. Of those 38 films, 15 had a female lead\/co-lead from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, and 3 had a female lead\/co-lead 45 years of age or older. Only 4 nonbinary speaking or named characters were coded across the sample. <\/p>\n
\n\tLGBTQ+ representation on screen remained static from 2024, with 36 speaking or named characters (less than 1%) in 2025, but not one transgender character appeared in the sample. The percentage of characters with a disability also stayed relatively stagnant at 2.8% (121 characters). <\/p>\n