New Report Says 50% Of Theatrical Releases Failed 'Bechdel Test'

Despite some improvement, the gender gap in senior leadership positions within Indian media and entertainment (M&E) companies remains significant, with women holding only 13% of these roles, as revealed in the third edition of the 'O Womaniya!' report. While this is a slight increase from the 10% reported in 2021, it highlights a persistent gender disparity in the industry.

O Womaniya!' s study, conducted in collaboration with Prime Video by media consulting firm Ormax Media and Film Companion, assesses the representation of women across content production, marketing, and corporate leadership in India's entertainment sector.

What Does The Report Say?

O Womaniya!' s report is divided into three key categories; 'content,' which examines the presence of women both on-screen and behind the camera; 'marketing,' which looks at the portrayal of women in promotional trailers for films and series; and 'corporate,' which analyses the representation of women in the boardrooms of the top 25 M&E firms.

Out of the 135 directors and CXO positions assessed within these 25 leading M&E companies, only 13% were occupied by women. Moreover, just 12% of the 780 head of department (HOD) positions examined across critical departments, including direction, cinematography, editing, writing, and production design, were held by women. While there has been a slight improvement from the 10% figure in 2021, this growth is primarily attributed to streaming films and series, with theatrical films remaining stagnant.

Theatrical Releases Fail 'Bechdel Test'

In 2022, the report analysed 156 films and series released in eight Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, and Gujarati) to provide a comprehensive overview of the industry's progress since 2021.

Shockingly, over half of the theatrical releases failed to meet the basic 'Bechdel Test,' an internationally recognised benchmark for assessing female representation in cinema. To pass this test, a film must feature at least one scene where two named female characters engage in a conversation unrelated to men. 

In 2022, only 47% of properties passed this test, a decline from the 55% figure in 2021. The sharpest drop was observed in theatrical films, with only 34% meeting the Bechdel Test criteria in 2022. However, certain series and films, such as Guilty Minds, Four More Shots Please! Season 3, Delhi Crime Season 2, Maja Ma, and Gangubai Kathiawadi, comfortably passed the Bechdel Test.

In the context of promotional trailers, women were given only 27% of the speaking time. Streaming films were more equitable, with 33% of speaking time allocated to women, while several series and movies, such as Hush Hush, Gehraiyaan, The Fame Game, Ammu, A Thursday, Sita Ramam, and others, allocated at least 50% of speaking time in their trailers to female lead characters.

The 'O Womaniya!' report has received support from various industry partners, including Clean Slate Filmz, Emmay Entertainment, Excel Entertainment, Jio Studio, Producers Guild India, RSVP, SonyLiv, Tiger Baby, and Zee5. Notably, leaders in the industry, including studio heads, filmmakers, actors, and others, have committed to enhancing female representation in both their personal and professional roles.

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