The representation of women in the film industry, particularly in positions of power, “stalled” in 2023, according to a new study by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released Jan. 2. Despite it being the year that “Barbie” broke records and topped the box office, the rest of the entertainment industry continued to grossly underrepresent half of its audience.

The new study, written by Stacy L. Smith and Katherine Pieper, analyzed the top-grossing 100 films each year from 2007 through 2023. It found that only 12% of the top-grossing films last year were directed by women. This number has not changed significantly since 2019, when the percentage of films rose to 10.7% from 4.5% in 2018. Over all 1,700 films studied, only 6% were directed by women.

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While the industry stagnates, some students — such as Jadyn Wu, a sophomore majoring in the business of cinematic arts — find that the University’s demographics in its film programs have major differences when compared to the industry at large.

“I work at a production company right now, and most everyone that works there is white … or male, and the only diversity actually comes through with the interns,” Wu said.  “In my classes, I tend to see more women than men, which is interesting. I was on a [class] set where there was actually more women than men and I think that was really, really cool to see so much inclusion.”

A previous study by the Initiative, published in August of last year, found that there was “no progress for girls & women on screen” over the 1,600 films surveyed. The study found that women remain underrepresented in speaking roles, leading roles and directorial roles throughout the industry.

The study also found that less than 25% of directors, writers and producers across the 16 years were women. The percentage of women directors sat at 8.8% in 2022: an increase from 2.7% in 2007 but barely different from 8% in 2008. Women in writing and producing roles saw slight gains over the 16-year period — rising about 5% and 7%, respectively.

Brandi Blair, a senior majoring in the business of cinematic arts who has interned at two large multimedia companies, echoed Wu’s sentiments at the University level, but said that the road for women and men going into the industry is “pretty different, especially when it comes to women being able to speak up in spaces.”

Blair said she typically saw more women than men in her internships, but added, “I feel like I saw a subsection of the company.”

While these subsections may have more equal inclusion, the lack of women in higher ranking positions could lead to a lack of inclusive decision making overall, according to Wu.

“With top leadership positions predominantly taken by males, this means female executives may be overridden in their decisions,” Wu said. “They may be looked at as inferior or less capable than their male counterparts. They may be underpaid for doing the exact same work as their male counterparts. They may not fit in with the guy culture in their environment, so they’re left out.”

Meanwhile, USC has nearly 30 different student and University organizations dedicated to increasing diversity and representation, with some specializing in the film industry — such as the Women of Cinematic Arts, Asian American Cinema Association and African American Cinema Society. Students such as Luz Lainez, a sophomore majoring in environmental studies with a minor in the entertainment industry, have praised the University for keeping representation in mind.

“I think USC does a good job of making [classes] pretty balanced,” Lainez said.

Between 2007 and 2022, women went from making up about 30% of speaking roles in the top films to making up around 35% of those speaking roles, according to the Initiative’s previous study.

“The percentage of girls and women on screen has not changed since 2008 (32.8%),” the study’s authors wrote. “Clearly, the activism and industry advocacy has failed.”

In acting roles, though women are approaching parity in leading roles, they are still vastly underrepresented across the board. Women in leading roles have increased from 20% to 44% between 2007 and 2022, but the percentage of balanced casts has fluctuated around 15% since 2008.

“I feel like the focus really needs to be on more of the business and corporate side of things,” Blair said. “A lot of the change has to come from the people running the studios and bigger companies and making the big decisions about things.”

According to the Initiative’s new study, “There has not been one year in the 17 evaluated where every major distributor hired a woman director whose film was in the top 100.”

Universal Pictures hired the most women of any distributor, at 27. Warner Bros. followed with 18 and Sony Pictures Entertainment with 16.

Wu, Lainez and Blair maintained that there was a clear trend among the current generation that may lead to proper representation in the coming years.

“I have hope in our generation to make this change,” Lainez said. “I feel like we’re doing already a pretty good job on it so far. I think we can, as we get more control, hopefully continue.”

Wu said the changes may not be immediate, citing her experience at the company she worked for.

“There is diversity that will be coming through in the next decade or so,” Wu said. “I don’t think it’ll be as quickly as a few years. There’s progress happening already, but it’s going to take a little more time.”