Progress for Women and People of Color in Directorial Roles Stalls Despite High-Profile Successes

Studies Call for Changes in Hiring Practices to Address Lack of Diversity in Hollywood

Despite high-profile successes such as Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie', the highest-grossing movie of 2023, studies from USC Annenberg's Inclusion Initiative and San Diego State University's Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film indicate that progress for women and people of color in directorial roles has stalled.
In 2023, only 12.1% of directors of the highest-grossing films were women, a slight increase from 9% in 2022. Women of color represented only 3.4% of these directors.
Directors from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups accounted for less than a quarter of directors in 2023, consistent with 2022 figures and a step backward from 2021, which saw nearly 30%.
Obstacles to progress cited by the studies include lack of access to finance for projects and entrenched hiring practices within the industry.
The studies call for changes in hiring practices, including diversified candidate lists and challenging the notion that hiring a woman or person of color to helm a movie is a 'risk'.