Prime Video today released the latest edition of O Womaniya! report, a study on female representation in Indian entertainment. Researched and curated by media consulting firm, Ormax Media, produced by Film Companion Studios, and championed by Prime Video, the O Womaniya! 2024 study delves deeper into current and emerging trends, while identifying gaps in female representation across key areas of production, corporate leadership, and marketing in Indian entertainment.

This year, the report analysed 169 films and series released in 2023 in nine Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, and Gujarati), across streaming and theatrical.

According to the report, women still have only 29% talk time in trailers. Though it has increased in the past two years, growth remains marginal, with streaming films showcasing the highest propensity to allocate more talk time to women in promotional trailers. Of the titles analysed, Made in Heaven Season 2 (Hindi), Boo (Telugu), Jhimma 2 (Marathi), Taali (Hindi), Rainbow Rishta (Hindi), Wedding.con (Hindi), Sweet Kaaram Coffee (Tamil), Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo (Hindi), and Jaane Jaan (Hindi) were some of the films and series to feature high in the list.

Only 15% of the HOD positions analysed across key departments of direction, cinematography, editing, writing, and production design, were held by women. Streaming had a significant contribution to this, with both streaming films and series having over 20% of HOD positions helmed by women. Editing took the lead amongst departments with over 18% of films and movies, mostly on streaming, having female editors. Among the 144 Director/CXO positions analysed across 25 leading M&E firms in India, only 12% were held by women, a slight decline over the last year.

The report institutionalised a new test, Gender Equality Toolkit, this year to measure female representation in content, and also enable filmmakers to apply the test and eliminate biases early on in the content creation cycle. The test checks whether women in a film or series have agency, and are drivers of their own stories or are just accessories to driving the male point of view in storytelling.

Only 31% of the titles analysed passed the Gender Equality Toolkit test, with streaming series taking the lead with 45% of them passing the test. The report also revealed that more stories pass the test when there is a female commissioning-in-charge, as 48% of the titles that passed the test were commissioned by women. The report also deployed the more traditional Bechdel Test to analyse content to reveal almost half the titles falling short on this test as well.

“At Prime Video, we firmly believe that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is not just good to have — it is essential to driving meaningful change. We have worked intentionally and persistently to build a diverse, inclusive, and equitable ecosystem, creating more opportunities for women, both in production and within our organisation. In a collaborative industry such as ours, the true impact of DEI can only be realised when it is embraced across the board, with each of us committing to fostering an environment where women are seen, heard, and truly valued,” said Stuti Ramachandra, director and head of production, International Originals, Prime Video, India. “O Womaniya! exemplifies the power of collaboration in addressing female representation in the industry. This latest edition of the report calls on all of us to accelerate these transformative efforts—not merely taking small steps, but making bold strides toward a world where opportunities and growth are defined by capability and talent, not gender.”

Sharing his thoughts on the latest findings in O Womaniya! Shailesh Kapoor, founder and CEO, Ormax Media, said, “With every edition of O Womaniya!, we have looked at expanding the scope of the report. In this year’s edition, the introduction of the Gender Equality Toolkit offers a nuanced perspective on representation of women in entertainment. The toolkit is designed to be action-oriented, and can help creators and producers evaluate new ideas at their end, from an inclusivity perspective.”

Speaking about the report, Anupama Chopra, film critic and producer said, “The entertainment industry is under greater scrutiny than ever before. With every step forward and every gap left uncovered, stakeholders are reflecting on how they can drive meaningful change. Every action and conversation around gender inclusivity matters and with the O Womaniya! Report and the newly launched Toolkit, we are moving closer to creating an equitable industry. I am deeply grateful to Prime Video and Ormax Media for their partnership in this groundbreaking initiative.”

Author: Sania Khan