A groundbreaking international conference on gender in media was held at USC Jan. 28-31, hosted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

Research unveiled at the conference by USC Annenberg School for Communication professor Stacy Smith showed a vast underrepresentation of female characters in popular TV and media. When females are shown, several studies determined, they are often portrayed in a highly sexual or provocative manner.

Smith served as principal researcher for four studies that analyzed popular films and television. Among many findings, the data showed that only 28 percent of speaking characters in G-rated films are female, and when females play a lead role in these films, their appearance is often a strong focus.

Additionally, in the top 400 movies from 1990-2006, females were more than five times as likely as males to be shown in sexually revealing clothing. In television shows created for children, male characters occur about twice as often as females.

“I think it’s fair to say the picture is not fair for young viewers,” Smith said. “There are more males than females, but when females are shown, they are much more likely to be shown in a hypersexualized way.”

Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis said her institute partnered with USC Annenberg because she wanted to bring serious research to movie studios when talking about the underrepresentation of women in movies and television shows. Now that the research backs her fears about gender inequality in Hollywood, she hopes changes can be made.

“We’re not just talking about making more movies with a female lead,” Davis said. “I’m talking about secondary and tertiary characters. Let’s have them be half female and give kids the sense that it’s OK for girls to take up space in the world, and for the boys to see it’s OK for girls to take up space in the world … My theory is our kids can eventually grow up having more respect for each other.”

On Jan. 30, the conference brought together an unprecedented meeting of more than 200 executives and producers of entertainment aimed at children in a luncheon discussion at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City. Keynote speakers were institute founder Davis, Sony Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal, philanthropist and USC trustee Wallis Annenberg, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson, Brown Johnson of Nickelodeon Preschool and independent writer/producer Tom Lynch.

At an open forum the next day, panelists examined the link between media and public health issues such as low self-esteem and body image, the effects of American media in other countries (such as hypersexual American content in an African context), the business of marketing products to young people and how writers and producers can create complex female characters for the children’s market.

Among the day’s participants were Davis, Heather Kenyon of the Cartoon Network, Doreen Spicer of the movie Jump In, Kaaren Lee Brown of DIC Entertainment, David Kleeman of the American Center for Children and Media, Craig Miller, head of the Writers’ Guild of America’s animation caucus, Cort Lane of Mattel and Variety television critic Brian Lowry. Linda Simensky, senior director of children’s programming for PBS, was the forum’s keynote speaker.

The conference also featured two days of international researcher workshops funded by the Ford Foundation and the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

While most of the data points to disparity between female and male roles, research suggested that the healthiest balance of male and female representation is found in shows rated TV-G. A study found that “these programs present a more balanced treatment of characters by gender and in roles of familial responsibility (e.g., parent, romantic relationship).”

“Clearly, parity has been achieved in this particular rating,” Smith said.

The studies include these recommendations for entertainment executives and creators: Include more females as main characters, secondary characters, in crowds and as narrators; provide female characters with aspirations beyond romance and develop the inner character of female characters.