Women‘s Voices Underrepresented in 2016 Films: Analyzing the Dialogue Divide

Source: New York Film Academy

In an analysis of 2016‘s top-grossing films, data scientist Amber Thomas found that women characters only spoke 27% of the dialogue, despite making up over half of the moviegoing audience. This startling statistic reveals just how underrepresented women‘s voices were in the year‘s biggest movies.

Using publicly available film scripts, Thomas broke down the number of words spoken by male and female characters in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2016. Her results showed a significant gender imbalance across the board.

Movie	Percent of dialogue by women
Finding Dory	53%
Zootopia	36%
The Jungle Book	10%
The Secret Life of Pets	24%
Rogue One	17%
Deadpool	16%
Captain America: Civil War	16%
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	33%
Suicide Squad	34%
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them	35%

Data via Amber Thomas

Not one film in the top 10 achieved a 50/50 balance of male and female dialogue. Only two, both animated features, had a female character with the most lines. Live action films fared worse, with Rogue One having only 9% of its speaking characters be women.

Behind the Scenes Gaps

One major factor contributing to the lack of female dialogue is the scarcity of women in key creative roles behind the camera. A 2017 report analyzing the top 100 grossing films found that women made up just:

• 8% of directors
• 10% of writers
• 24% of producers
• 14% of editors

Without women in leadership positions to greenlight projects and shape the creative vision, female characters and stories are often sidelined. And the numbers show little improvement over the past decade.

Stereotypical Characters

When women characters do appear on screen, they‘re often relegated to stereotypical supporting roles. A 2016 study categorized the female characters in the year‘s top 100 grossing films and found:

• 48% were love interests for a male character
• 29% were mothers
• 21% were "femme fatales"
• 18% were "damsels in distress"

While there‘s nothing inherently wrong with any of those character types, an overrepresentation of women in narrowly defined roles reinforces limiting stereotypes about women‘s place in society. It makes it harder for viewers to envision women in non-traditional or leadership roles both on screen and off.

The Bechdel-Wallace test, created by Alison Bechdel in 1985, is a simple way to assess whether a film portrays women as fully realized characters. To pass, a movie must have:

1. At least two named women characters
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a man

Yet in 2016, half of the top grossing films still failed this bare minimum test nearly 30 years later.

The Tech Connection

So why should those of us in tech care about the stories being told by the film industry? For one, the lack of women‘s voices and perspectives on screen mirrors the gender gaps we see in STEM fields. Women make up 47% of the overall workforce but only:

• 25% of computing occupations
• 19% of software developers
• 11% of cybersecurity professionals

Media representation shapes cultural perceptions of gender roles from an early age. When girls don‘t see women depicted in prominent technical or leadership positions in film and TV, it‘s harder for them to envision those careers for themselves.

There‘s evidence that improving female representation in media can boost women‘s participation in STEM. A 2012 study found that after the release of the X-Files and Scully effect, the number of women pursuing STEM degrees rose significantly. We need to replicate that effect.

Moreover, the unconscious biases about women‘s abilities that hold them back in tech start with the media we consume. If movies continually depict men as the default heroes, experts and leaders while women are relegated to supportive roles, that conditions us to expect and accept those gender dynamics as normal in the real world.

By analyzing the subtextual messages in film dialogue, we can expose the hidden biases embedded in the content and work to tell more balanced stories. Applying natural language processing and sentiment analysis techniques to film scripts by gender could yield interesting insights.

For example, a 2016 analysis of Disney films found that even when women have an equal amount of dialogue, the language used is more passive, emotional and relationship-oriented compared to goal-focused, achievement-oriented language for male characters. Uncovering these patterns is the first step towards change.

Getting to 50/50

So how do we achieve gender parity in film dialogue moving forward? A key driver will be getting more women into creative leadership roles as directors, writers, and producers where they can shape the stories being told. Industry efforts like the Time‘s Up initiative are already pushing for 50/50 gender balance across all levels by 2020.

At the same time, male allies in positions of power need to greenlight more women-led projects, insist on inclusive hiring practices, and develop complex female characters within the films they make. Franchises like Star Wars are starting to show what‘s possible with more women at the center of the action.

We also need better metrics and accountability. Analyzing the percentage of dialogue by gender should become a standard industry metric alongside box office grosses and Bechdel test results. Pressure from audiences and advocacy groups can provide incentive to improve the numbers.

As a tech community, we can support the cause by championing media that gives women an equal voice, calling out gender gaps when we see them, and opposing the biases that hold women back in both Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Change will require sustained efforts on all fronts.

True equality in film will come when women‘s voices are so normal that we no longer need to count the words they say. But to get there, we need to keep shining a light on the gaps and pushing for more balanced representation in the stories that shape our culture. If she can see it, she can be it – not just on screen but in the tech world too.