Screenwriter and Character Gender in a 2020 Body of Swedish Feature Film Proposals

Abstract: This study of correlations between screenwriter and character gender is based on a 2020 body of 369 Swedish feature fiction film proposals by 380 individual writers, submitted to the Swedish national broadcasting corporation Sveriges Television (SVT) specifically for development funding for screenwriting. Results are compared both with similar data from the Swedish Film Institute (SFI), which is the national funding body, as well as with SFI’s statistics of Swedish films receiving selective or market support. As has been the case since the introduction of sound film, men are still in a majority in the screenwriting profession. This study suggests that female screenwriters also remain underrepresented relative to their numbers. Of the writers in this cohort, 57% are presumed male and 43% presumed female, a proportion that is not reflected in those working actively in the industry or getting work produced. Because both men and women are likelier to write about their own gender, and give each other a similar slice of attention, the underrepresentation of woman writers has a direct effect on the on-screen presence of female characters. Compared to historical data, male writers are now somewhat likelier to include female characters in upcoming projects. Some possible backsliding in the overall proportion of female characters might be explained by an interest in both groups in writing homosocial environments.