Study: Hollywood's diversity gap is still huge

If you thought Hollywood was becoming more diverse, you'd be wrong

A new study from the Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California, found that, among other huge disparities, less than a third of speaking parts in most popular films from 2007-2014 were female. 30.2% to be exact.

The report, titled "Inequality in 700 Popular Films," examined gender and race on screen and behind the camera across the 100 top-grossing fictional films in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (2011 was excluded). All speaking or named characters were "assessed for demographics, domestic
traits, and hypersexualization," and for movies in 2014, whether the characters were LGBT.

The report's findings are grim, if not totally surprising. It is full of statistics showing that the vast majority of popular movies are predominantly white, male and straight. In 2014, 73.1% of all speaking or named roles were white. Just 19 total characters among the 100 films were lesbians, gay or bisexual. None were transgender. Behind the camera the disparity is even sharper: Only 1.9% of the top 100 movies of 2014 were directed by women and only 5.4% were black.

Perhaps the most disheartening takeaway from the report is that in some areas there has been very little improvement over the last seven years. For example, in 2014's biggest movies, 21% featured a female lead, which is about the same percentage as the 20% in 2007.

The report comes at a time when Hollywood is facing more and more criticism of its pervasive inequality. The 2014 Oscar nominations featured a field of 20 actors -- all of whom were white. In May the ACLU -- citing  “the widespread exclusion of women directors from employment in directing episodic television and feature films” --  asked the government to investigate the hiring practices in the industry.

Films released in 2015 do not appear to be bucking the trend of the last seven years. Despite movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, which was widely praised Charlize Theron's female lead, the two biggest films of the year so far, Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron, were roundly criticized for what many saw as sexist portrayals of their female characters. The casting of a new Spider-Man -- the third white man to play the part in the last decade -- also brought fans' cries for diversity back into the spotlight.