Men Make Up the Majority: How Gender Disparity in Core Creative Teams Manifests in Animated Films

Abstract

Whose story is being told? This study examined how gender representation in core creative teams impacted the top 150 animated films produced between 1991-2023 in the forms of sex distribution of lead and speaking characters, if there were multiple female characters who interacted with each other, and the role of the lead character's parents. In reality, men make up only half the world, however we found that 82% of lead characters were male with men representing 79% of the creative staff. This is important as media shapes and solidifies our social reality no matter how bizarre or accurate it is.