US study: Men played leading roles twice as often as women in Hollywood in 2021

Despite films like »Cruella«, female protagonists remained in the minority in Hollywood in 2021: As a study showed, men continued to dominate in the supporting roles.

Women are underrepresented in Hollywood. As a US study by the “Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film” showed, in US films in 2021 only about a third of all characters were female – and apparently regardless of the type of role: the main characters the proportion was 31 percent. Calculated on the total of all speaking figures, it was only slightly higher, at 34 percent. That means men play leading roles twice as often as women.

Woman is equally young – man is equally criminal?

According to the study, basic gender stereotypes also persisted. Female characters in the films were therefore mostly younger, marital status was better known than for men. On the other hand, male characters were more likely to have a recognizable profession than female characters. Girls and women tended to have personal goals, while boys and men tended to pursue professional goals or violence and crime.

The annual study by the “Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film” has taken place once a year since 2002. All speaking characters in the 100 highest-grossing films of the year are examined. According to the US institute, the proportion of women in film roles has increased slightly since 2002: at that time it was 28 percent – ​​and six percent below today’s value.