Hollywood's Inclusion Stagnation: Progress Still Elusive

A new report from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reveals that Hollywood's film industry has made negligible progress in inclusion over the past two decades. Examining 2025's top-grossing films, the study found that women and girls comprised only 33.6% of speaking characters, a minimal increase from 29.9% in 2007. While lead roles for women saw some gains, they dipped from a 2024 high.

Representation for the LGBTQ+ community remained stagnant at less than 1%, with no transgender characters appearing in the analyzed films. People with disabilities accounted for 2.8% of characters. Behind the camera, only 9 women directed the top films in 2025, a figure that significantly decreased from the previous year and mirrors 2008 statistics. Women held 16% of writer roles and 24.4% of producer roles, with a notable increase in women composers since 2007.

Despite an increase in characters from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to 41.5%, many films still lacked diversity, with significant numbers of movies excluding Black, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian characters. Dr. Stacy L. Smith highlighted that while change is possible, progress is fragile, and the industry seems content to await change rather than actively pursue solutions, questioning whether inclusion will be a priority in Hollywood's future.