Diversity is on the rise in the film industry but challenges remain

"Red Sparrow" starring Jennifer Lawrence.

It has taken the film industry a number of years to address the issues of diversity and representation but it looks like real change is happening - but not everyone is benefitting.

In a report released by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative earlier this week, the top 100 grossing films of the last 11 years were analyzed showing the prevalence of female leads or co-leads.

Back in 2007, only 20% of the top 100 grossing films had females in leading or co-starring roles. That number has doubled in 2018 to 40%, showing a significant increase from just the previous year where the number was 32% in 2017.

However, on the directing front, the picture was quite bleak. Only 4% of 1200 films shot over 10 years had a female director.

Recently the Time’s Up organization announced the #4percentchallenge to encourage studios and other production companies to commit to projects with female directors.

While the industry continues to make progress in areas for representation, women and minorities still face difficulties in finding roles and getting work as crew on film productions of all sizes.

Do you think there’s progress being made? Share your opinion with us: @filminetwork