In 2025, women directed just 18% of the top-grossing films worldwide — a small improvement from the pre-pandemic 14%, but still far from equal. The numbers are even worse for women of colour, trans women, and women in technical jobs like cinematography.
Behind the glamour of red carpets and glitzy premieres, the industry is still shaped by gender politics — the balance between who is represented on screen and who holds the power behind it. In the last decade, we have seen progress: more complex female characters and greater awareness of pay gaps. But the structural imbalance remains.
The entertainment industry’s gender dynamics matter because they shape both careers and culture. The stories we watch influence how societies imagine women’s capabilities, ambitions, and agency. And despite headlines about milestones, the truth is this: who gets to be seen and who gets to decide what’s seen is still unequally distributed.
Representation on Screen
In recent years, women in the entertainment industry have made some big gains. Films like Barbie (2023) broke box office records, Korean dramas like Queen of Tears showed women in power, and Indian series like Delhi Crime gave audiences strong, layered female leads.
But beyond these successes, problems remain. Many female-led films are still marketed as “exceptions” rather than the norm. The infamous “strong female lead” trope often replaces authentic storytelling — women appear powerful, but without emotional depth.
In Indian cinema, “pan-India” blockbusters frequently focus on hypermasculine heroes, while women are mostly love interests or emotional supports. Even when female characters are central, their success is judged by male-coded metrics like physical action, toughness, or sacrifice.
LGBTQ+ representation has improved, but many portrayals remain trapped in stereotypes — tragic endings, comedic side characters, or hypersexualised depictions. While more films now pass the Bechdel Test, passing a checklist is not the same as delivering deep, meaningful, and intersectional representation.
“Representation isn’t about who gets to be seen, it’s about who gets to decide what’s worth seeing.”
Power, Gatekeeping, and the Glass Ceiling
True equality in entertainment is not just about who appears on screen — it’s also about who holds the camera, writes the script, and controls the budget.
While women-led production houses like Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Zoya Akhtar’s Tiger Baby Films have brought fresh narratives, they remain exceptions. In Hollywood, most high-budget films are still directed by men. In India, women make up less than 10% of mainstream cinema directors and are often limited to independent or low-budget projects.
The authority to approve projects and allocate budgets — known as “greenlighting” — is still mostly in the hands of male executives. Women’s projects are often questioned for their “commercial viability,” while men’s projects are not.
Awards, Festivals, and the Politics of Recognition
Award seasons are cultural mirrors, reflecting both progress and bias. When Barbie became the highest-grossing movie of 2023, but director Greta Gerwig was left out of the Best Director Oscar nominations, it reignited debates about how women’s work is valued.
This isn’t just a Hollywood issue. In India, award shows often overlook regional female-led films in favour of male-dominated blockbusters. Film festivals have started introducing gender balance measures, but progress is slow.
Critics also play a role in reinforcing bias. Studies show that reviews of women-directed films tend to focus on emotions, while men-directed films are praised for technical mastery — quietly reinforcing the stereotype of “creative genius” as male-coded.
Streaming Platforms: Promise and Risks
Streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar have given global audiences access to a wider range of content. By bypassing traditional gatekeepers, they have helped female-led stories like Dahaad and The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel prove that women-centred narratives can draw huge audiences.
But algorithms present challenges. They tend to promote content that maximises watch time — often fast-paced, male-centric thrillers — over slower, character-driven stories. Without active promotion, diverse narratives can get buried.
Even in streaming, high-budget projects are usually given to male creators, and women-led productions often receive smaller marketing budgets, limiting their reach.
“Streaming promised to democratize storytelling, but without active promotion, diverse stories still drown in the algorithm.”
The Stories Still Untold
When people talk about “women’s representation,” the reality is more complex. Women of colour, trans women, women with disabilities, and older women face additional barriers to visibility and opportunity.
Hollywood’s diversity efforts have not eliminated “double marginalisation” — something Viola Davis has highlighted when discussing the scarcity of leading roles for older Black women. Similarly, in India, actresses are often sidelined after their 30s, while male stars continue to play romantic leads well into their 50s and beyond.
Some progress is visible in regional cinema. Malayalam and Marathi films, for example, have portrayed working-class women and challenged urban, upper-class stereotypes. Yet these narratives rarely receive the global exposure or marketing budgets of male-led films.
The Path Forward
- Achieving gender equity in entertainment requires more than a handful of success stories — it demands systemic change.
- Mentorship programs can train women for technical roles like cinematography, editing, and sound design.
- Funding bodies — public and private — should provide equal opportunities and resources for women-led projects.
- Salary transparency can help close the pay gap.
Audiences can influence the industry through their viewing choices — every stream, ticket purchase, and social media post can support diverse content.
Unions can ensure equitable hiring, credit distribution, and harassment-free workplaces.
Gender equality in entertainment is not about charity or trend — it’s about telling meaningful stories that reflect the complexity of the world. Audiences are hungry for these stories.
The stories we tell — and the ones we ignore — shape how people see the world and what they believe is possible. Until women in all their diversity have equal opportunities both on and off screen, the entertainment industry’s limits will remain unchanged.