Racial and gender representation in Hollywood films has largely remained “flat” the past few years.

Racial and gender representation in Hollywood films has largely remained “flat” the past few years. According to a research brief from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, 41% of the top 100 highest grossing movies of 2021 featured a female lead or co-lead. Though this is a significant improvement from 2007 when only 20% featured a female lead or co-lead, it’s nearly the same as in 2019 when the percentage of top movies that featured a female protagonist reached a record 43% (over the last four years, that number has remained around 40%, which is still below gender parity). Similarly, the racial and ethnic diversity of film protagonists has plateaued: 32% of the top 100 movies in 2021 featured a person of color as the lead or co-lead, which is below the proportional representation (40% of the U.S. population identifies as a person of color according to the latest census). YPulse’s Representation in Action research shows 53% of young consumers say it’s important for the movie / TV industry to reflect diversity / be inclusive, while 75% of young BIPOC wish they saw more people of their race in TV shows / movies. (HuffPost, THR)