Geena Davis Institute: ‘The Power of Portrayal’ report
The Geena Davis Institute published a new report during Cannes Lions 2024 which looked at on-screen representation in Cannes Lions Film and Film Craft winning and shortlisted work from 2006 to 2023.
Share this post
The report explores the overall trend of representation in creative work submitted for Film and Film Craft Lions since 2006. It looked at how various groups are portrayed and whether statistically significant differences emerge.
It found that there have been positive steps towards inclusion especially of women and characters from minority ethnic backgrounds, but that there is more work to be done including on addressing ‘passive stereotypes’.
Key findings include:
- The representation of women in advertising has increased over the past 18 years.
- The representation of people of colour has more than doubled.
- Despite progress on the representation of women and people of colour, queer characters remain underrepresented in advertising.
- Disabled representation has remained steady and low.
- Since 2019, the representation of older adults is increasing.
- Representation of people with large body types has significantly decreased over the past 5 years.
The report also offers recommendations for improving diverse representation in advertising for marketers and ad creators.
