A new study has revealed that just 13.4 per cent of the top grossing films of last year were directed by women.
While the number is a slight improvement on 2023, which was 12.1 percent, the annual Director’s Chair study by the University of Southern California‘s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative highlights the ongoing lack of representation for female filmmakers in Hollywood.
Of the 112 directors analysed for the report, 15 women were represented. In addition, 24.1 per cent were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group, while just 5.3 per cent were women of colour.
Stacy L Smith, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s founder, said in a statement that “there is much more room to improve. Women directors are still significantly outnumbered and rarely get multiple opportunities behind the camera. Hollywood cannot be satisfied with the change that has occurred when there is still work to be done.”
Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Founder Stacy L. Smith (IMAGE: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Gender equality in the film industry has been an issue in the spotlight for many years, generating controversy on the awards circuit as well as at the box office. Last year, the Academy Awards made headlines when Greta Gerwig was not nominated in their Best Director category for her film Barbie, despite it being nominated for Best Picture and being the high grossing film of 2023. As of the start of 2025, only eight women have been nominated for Best Director in the awards’ 96-year history.
Despite this, veteran director Jodie Foster remarked she felt “proud” of Gerwig’s success, noting the increase in American female directors since she first went behind the camera for 1991 drama Little Man Tate.
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