Hollywood's gender gap isn't closing fast enough

Despite some progress, Hollywood's gender gap remains stubbornly wide. A new report by the University of Southern California found that only 34.6% of speaking parts in major movies went to women last year. This is only a slight increase from 29.9% in 2007.

There has been some progress in the representation of women in leading roles. Last year, 44% of movies had a female lead or co-lead. This is the highest proportion of any year. In 2007 it was just 20%.

There are also some improvements for women of color. Women of color took leading roles in 16 movies last year. In 2021 it was 11 movies. While in 2007 it was just 1.

The slow progress in gender parity is not confined to Hollywood. Each year the World Economic Forum measures gender equality across four domains: economic participation, education, health and survival, and political empowerment. Today, the world's gender gap is 68.6% closed. At our current rate of progress, it will take another 131 years to close it.