The Representation Project

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Statistics from Miss Representation

  • Women make up 51% of the US population... however women comprise only 20% of congress
  • 35 women have served as US governors compared to 2,319 men.
  • 71 countries in the world have had female presidents or prime ministers, the US is not one of them.
  • U.S. women continue to earn 77¢ to every dollar that men earn.
  • In nine states and the District of Colombia women who are victims of domestic abuse can be denied healthcare coverage because domestic abuse can be considered a preexisting condition.
  • The U.S is the only major industrialized nation without paid family leave.
  • In 2011, only 11% of protagonists in films were female.
  • Between 1937 and 2005 there were only 13 female protagonists in animated films...All of them except one had the aspiration of finding romance.
  • More than 20% of teens in the US have sex before the age of 14
  • In Nancy Pelosi’s four years as Speaker of the House, she has been on the cover of zero national weekly magazines
  • Women own only 5.8% of all television stations and 6% of radio stations
  • Women hold only 3% of clout positions in the mainstream media (telecommunications, entertainment, publishing, and advertising)
    Women In The World Foundaiton
  • Studies prove exposures to sexually explicit video games and music videos is linked to men’s acceptance of rape myths and sexual harassment
  • 1 in 4 girls experience teen dating violence
  • 1 in 4 women are abused by a partner in their lifetime
  • 1 in 6 women are survivors of rape or attempted rape
  • 15% of rape survivors are under the age of 12
  • Rape survivors are more likely to suffer Depression, Abuse Alcohol and Drugs, or Contemplated Suicide
  • 70% of women in the workforce are mothers; yet we have no national paid leave child care or flex time policy

Other Statistics

  • 42% of children under 8 years old have a TV in their bedroom
    Common Sense Media
  • 52% of  0 to 8 year olds have access to a new mobile device such as a smart phone, video iPod, or iPad/tablet
    Common Sense Media
  • Girls between 11 and 14 see on average 500 ads a day
    Frank W Baker
  • Males outnumber females 3 to 1 in family films. In contrast, females comprise just over 50% of the population in the United States. Even more staggering is the fact that this ratio, as seen in family films, is the same as it was in 1946
    Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
  • Women are about 37% of prime-time TV characters (they are 51% of the U.S. population). Women 45 and older are only 15% of prime-time TV characters.
    AAUW
  • Male TV characters (41%) were more likely to be shown “on the job” than female characters (28%). Men were more likely to talk about work than women were (52% vs. 40%) and less likely to talk about romantic relationships (49% vs. 63%)
    AAUW
  • Only 20% of news articles are about women
    ASAP Initiative
  • The American Psychological Association estimates that teens are exposed to 14,000 sexual references & innuendos per year on TV
    APA
  • In 2011, women comprised 18% of all directors,executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 domestic grossing films
    Women in TV and film
  • Forty-two percent of first to third-grade girls want to be thinner, while 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of getting fat
    Dove Real Beauty Campaign, 2004
  • Eighty percent of 10-year-old American girls say they have been on a diet. The number one magic wish for young girls age 11-17 is to be thinner
    Just Think
  • Rates of depression are the same among boys and girls until puberty, but twice as many women are diagnosed as depressed post-puberty
    National Institute of Mental Health
  • 15% of rape survivors are under the age of 12
    Crisis Intervention Center, 26 Jul 11