Indian entertainment still struggles with gender representation gaps in 2025
A new study on gender representation in Indian entertainment has revealed slow progress in some areas and setbacks in others. The O Womaniya! 2025 report examined 122 films and series released last year across nine languages. Its findings highlight persistent gaps in opportunities for women both on and off screen.
The report showed women had just 29% of the talk time in trailers, up slightly from 27% in 2022. Streaming platforms performed better, with films and series giving women 36% of the dialogue in promotional clips. Meanwhile, only 32% of the analysed titles met the O Womaniya! Toolkit standards for female representation in content.
Telugu productions saw the biggest improvement, jumping 21 percentage points to 31% passing the test. Streaming films also made gains, with 47% now meeting the criteria—a 16-point rise over 2024. However, Hindi titles, despite contributing the most off-camera female talent, still lagged in overall representation.
Behind the scenes, the numbers were less encouraging. Female heads of department (HODs) in creative roles fell to 13%, down from 15% in the previous report. Direction remained particularly low, with women occupying just 8% of these positions. In contrast, senior leadership roles in 25 major media firms rose from 12% to 18%, showing some progress at the executive level.
The O Womaniya! initiative continues to push for greater gender inclusivity in Indian media. While streaming platforms and certain languages have shown improvement, the overall decline in female creative leadership highlights ongoing gaps. The report aims to guide industry decisions by providing clear data on representation gaps.
