2019 Was a Record Year for
Female Protagonists, Study Says.
The study was conducted by
San Diego State University.
The percentage of female leads in
top-grossing films rose from 31 to 40 percent. .
45 percent of those female protagonists
appeared in studio features and
55 percent appeared in independent features. .
According to Dr. Martha Lauzen, the study’s author, this
change indicates a “positive shift” in female representation.
We have now seen two consecutive
years of substantial gains for female
protagonists, indicating the beginning
of a positive shift in representation. , Dr. Martha Lauzen, via ‘Variety’.
However, in terms of women from underrepresented
groups, the numbers are not as indicative of progress.
Black females in speaking roles declined
from 21 percent to 20 percent in 2019.
Asian female characters dropped from
10 percent in 2018 to 7 percent in 2019. .
Overall, only 18 percent of major female roles were
black, 6 percent were Latina and 5 percent were Asian