The Status of Women in the Media

This report summarizes the recent available statistical data on women who determine the content of news, literature, and television and film entertainment, as well as on how women are depicted on entertainment television and film.

Data were compiled from several leading sources of statistical and analytic data on women in the media, and from recent research articles on media gender inequity. The report is intended to provide a broad overview of the status of women in the U.S. media at the beginning of 2012. Results indicate that, over the past decade, women consistently have been underrepresented in news and entertainment media, with little change in proportions over time. When films and television do depict female characters, they often reflect gender stereotypes. Women in films, particularly young women, are far more likely than men to be hypersexualized.