News Archive

March 08, 2023

New Goddess Exhibition & Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation Conference – April 5

Photos Credits: L-R: Laverne Cox in Paper Magazine, 2020, © Joshua Kissi. Marilyn Monroe, image by Milton H. Greene, © Archive on behalf of Milton H. Greene. 2007 SAKURAN Film Committee © Moyoco Anno/Kodansha. Winnie Harlow. Photo: Albert Sanchez

ACMI today announces a pivotal new partnership with two-time Academy Award-winning actor and advocate Geena Davis and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The iconic actor is set to travel to Melbourne as lead ambassador for the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces blockbuster, Goddess: Power, Glamour, Rebellion. The ACMI-curated exhibition opens at Australia’s national museum of screen culture on April 5, 2023 before touring internationally.

Globally renowned for her show-stopping performances in hits such as Thelma & Louise, A League of Their Own, Beetlejuice and The Accidental Tourist, Geena Davis is a true Hollywood movie star. Beyond her impact on screen, she is also a leader in leveraging research, education and advocacy to influence systemic change in onscreen character portrayals in global film, television, advertising and gaming through her Institute.

Goddess celebrates the pantheon of trailblazing women who fought the system that tried to exploit them. Showcasing more than 150 exhibition highlights, including never-before-seen costumes, original sketches, interactive experiences, large-scale projections and cinematic treasures, the exhibition interrogates the many stereotypes surrounding the screen goddess and honours the ground-breaking achievements of the screen’s revolutionary leading women.

In aligning with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Goddess signals the work of these formidable figures is far from done – there are more boundaries to break, agendas to advance and systems to fight – while working towards a better future.

Speaking about her ambassadorship with ACMI, Geena Davis, said: “I’m so excited to be a launch partner for this ground-breaking exhibition and to lead important conversations about gender equality at the special Goddess event, Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation. This one-day conference at ACMI will inspire discussion about equality, diversity and ageing on Australian screens – vital conversations to have if we are to make permanent change in the screen industry.”

Being Seen on Screen: The Importance of Representation Conference
April 5, 9am – 6pm

This one-day conference will galvanise conversations around gender representation and diversity on Australian screens through panel discussions and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Geena Davis and her passionate call to action, live in conversation on April 5. The incredible speaker line up includes Madeline Di Nonno, President & CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and a cross-section of Australian screen industry talent including Michelle Cheng, Santilla Chingaipe, Jan Fran, Elaine Crombie, Sophie Hyde, Amy Marks, Pallavi Sharda, Anousha Zarkesh, plus award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist Carly Findlay, and the 2023 Australian of the Year, award-winning filmmaker, bestselling author and founder of the Body Image Movement, Taryn Brumfitt.

Tickets to the provocative new exhibition and events program now on sale

February 22, 2023

18 Wonderful Films About Black Girlhood and the Coming-of-Age Experience

For many of us, cinema is an awakening. It is revelatory in that it can showcase what is possible. The moving image acts as a mirror, showing us who we are and giving us glimpses of who we could be. But what happens when you can’t see yourself?

In a 2019 study, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media examined the Representations of Black Women in Hollywood. The organization determined that while Black girls and women are 6.5 percent of the U.S. population, only 3.7 percent of leads/co-leads in the 100 top-grossing films of the last decade fit that demographic. In short, for Black girls and teens, seeing themselves on screen is still a rarity.

Read the Full Article at IndieWire

January 09, 2023

Geena Davis: What I Know Now

Geena was interviewed by AARP, discussing her new memoir Dying of Politeness, the beauty of archery, dreams of being shorter, and why we need female presidents.

Read the Full Interview

January 06, 2023

Geena Davis on M&M’s for a Cause, ‘Thelma & Louise’, Fear, and More

Jim Clash at Forbes interviews Geena Davis about her film career and her work with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. They also discuss Mars, Inc., the candy company and long-time supporter of women’s causes, which is donating money to select female-championing organizations, and, for the first time, releasing all-female packages of M&M’s, featuring the female characters Purple, Brown and Green. One of the donation recipients is the Geena Davis institute. In a special M&M’s campaign, Mars, Inc. is looking for amazing women who are flipping the status quo and breaking boundaries, awarding $10,000 grants to select winners to fund their flip.

Read Part 1 of the Interview

Read Part 2 of the Interview

January 05, 2023

Nominate a Woman Who Is Flipping the Status Quo and They Could Receive $10,000 to Fund Their Flip!

The Geena Davis Institute is so excited to be partnering with M&M’S® in celebrating their first-ever all-female packs and to help find amazing amazing women who benefit their communities, transforming the world around them by trailblazing new paths for others and creating a space where everyone feels they belong.

Who are the women breaking down barriers in your life?

Visit https://mms.com/flipthestatusquo from January 5th to the 15th and complete the nomination form to give them the opportunity to win $10,000 grants to help further fund their flip!

December 15, 2022

Teen Vogue: TV Diversity Still Has a Long Way to Go, Darker-Skinned Women Still the Most Underrepresented On-Screen

On-screen diversity and representation has progressed so much over the last few decades — but what about the last decade in particular? It seems like the diversity gaps are closing, but more quickly for some demographics than others.

Google Research in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute and the University of Southern California revealed findings from a study on TV representation for scripted television shows from 2010 through 2021, in efforts to shed light on the status of inclusion and representation on TV in the United States and its evolution over the past 12 years.

“To move the needle, we need greater acceleration [of screen time for female characters] to achieve parity with male characters, conscious casting to consider a broad range of skin tones for both live action and animated characters, and more diverse storytellers behind the scenes,” Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media tells Teen Vogue. “Eliminating unconscious bias starts with a script! When there are diverse storytellers behind the scenes, there will be more diverse and inclusive characters on-screen. It is imperative that creative executives use an intersectional gender lens when evaluating all the characters being shown on screen regardless of whether they are a lead, co-lead, or minor character.”

Read the Full Article at Teen Vogue

October 13, 2022

Licensing International and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Reveal New Data on Inclusion in the Global Licensing Industry

Licensing International, in partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Netflix, hosted a live event yesterday to announce the results of the 2022 Global Study of Diversity in Licensing. The new data was presented by Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of GDI, at the Netflix offices in Los Angeles, California.

The 2022 study, which analyzed findings from two global surveys of Licensing International members, examined the effect the pandemic had on diversity and inclusion initiatives in the industry with a focus on employee retention.

Read the Full Press Release for notable findings or Download the Study.

October 11, 2022

The LEGO Group Invites Girls to Stay Curious in STEAM Subjects on International Day of the Girl

The LEGO Group marks International Day of the Girl with a new campaign to encourage girls to stay curious about STEAM subjects and careers. New and sobering statistics from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and the LEGO Group show girls are still discouraged from STEAM fields from a young age when play is often gender stereotyped.

For example, one statistic in the Geena Davis Institute LEGO Creativity Study shows 80% of boys are encouraged to code at a young age, compared with only 20% of girls*. Furthermore, when asked, children as young as six think girls don’t like science. These misconceptions extend into the teen years and adulthood and contribute to the gender gap within STEAM related careers**.

To help combat these misconceptions, the LEGO Group is launching an online campaign called “Let’s Keep them Curious!” that includes 5 STEAM play activities which aim to inspire parents to continue to nurture girls’ interests in STEAM by exploring fun LEGO brick challenges.

Read the Full Press Release

August 25, 2022

Order Geena’s New Book!

Institute Founder Geena Davis’ hilarious and candid memoir Dying of Politeness is available October 11, 2022 from HarperOne Books! It’s the tale of her “journey to badassery” — culminating in helping to lead the way to gender parity in Hollywood.

Order yours today!

August 15, 2022

Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to Receive the 2022 Governors Award

(LOS ANGELES – Aug. 15, 2022) — The Television Academy today announced the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the leading organization on gender equality, as the 2022 Governors Award recipient in recognition of their efforts to promote gender balance and foster inclusion throughout the entertainment industry.

The Governors Award honors an individual, company or organization that has made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.

Founded in 2004 by Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, the Institute is the only research-based organization working collaboratively within the entertainment industry to create gender balance, advocate for inclusion and reduce negative stereotyping in family entertainment media.

The organization believes representation of characters in media should, in aggregate, reflect the population of the world, which is half female and very diverse. They advise the industry that global culture change is especially important for children who need diverse, intersectional representation in the programming they watch so they are not unwittingly taught to absorb unconscious bias.

“Since 2004, the institute has been fighting for equality and representation, long before it was comfortable to take that stand. The Television Academy is honored to add the organization to the prestigious list of recipients,” said Governors Award selection committee co-Chair Kim Taylor-Coleman. “The institute’s work continues to result in real-world changes that have an impact far beyond the soundstages and locations we show up at every day,” added committee co-Chair Michael Spiller.

“We are incredibly honored to receive this award from the Board of Governors in recognition of our work. We know that in many sectors of our society true gender equality may take many years to achieve, but there’s one space where parity can be reached virtually overnight: on screen,” said Geena Davis, founder and chair.

“Seeing oneself reflected in popular culture is enormously powerful. As we say, ‘If they can see it, they can be it,'” said Madeline Di Nonno, president and CEO.

Their data-driven research, education and advocacy has successfully influenced content creators to reimagine the media landscape to reflect the world we live in. They are the only public data institute to consistently analyze representations of the six major marginalized identities on screen: women; people of color; LGBTQIA+ individuals; people with disabilities; older persons (50+); and large-bodied individuals in global Film, Television, Advertising and Gaming.

The Institute shares their studies and best practices directly with content partners, which has powered significant change in content development at major networks, studios, production companies, guilds, agencies and corporations. Changes included an increase in female and diverse characters, the aspirations/occupations of female characters and their dialogue, and story development.

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media was chosen by the Television Academy Board of Governors and will receive its Emmy statuette during the Emmy Awards ceremony on Monday, Sept. 12.

Previous recipients of the Governors Award, which debuted in 1978, include Debbie Allen, Tyler Perry, Star Trek, American Idol, William S. Paley, Hallmark Cards Inc., Masterpiece Theater, Comic Relief and PBS.

Read the Official Press Release

IF SHE CAN SEE IT, SHE CAN BE IT®