Wikipedia

Geena Davis Institute

The Geena Davis Institute (formerly Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media) is an American nonprofit organization based in Marina del Rey, California, led by president and CEO Madeline Di Nonno and chaired by Davis.[1][2] It operates on a philosophy of gathering and sharing data instead of blaming studios for lack of equal representation in an effort to effect change.[3][4]

Geena Davis Institute
Formation2004; 22 years ago (2004)
FounderGeena Davis
TypeNonprofit
Legal statusResearch institute
PurposeMedia and gender

Ageism

Key people
Madeline Di Nonno (President, CEO)

Geena Davis (chair)

Websitegeenadavisinstitute.org

History

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Geena Davis gives a speech at Millennium Development Goals Countdown, an event held in the Ford Foundation Building in Manhattan about gender roles and associated topics in film, September 2013

GDI was founded in 2004 by Geena Davis.[5] She founded the Institute to gather data on gender representation in media after noticing an imbalance in the representation of male and female characters in children's television while her daughter was a toddler.[6][7][8] Later, GDI expanded its research to include other types of representation including gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, and body type.[9] Her operating assumption was that more data was needed to effect change and generate more equal representation.[3]

In 2010, GDI and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation partnered to create an award presented at the College Television Awards, recognizing student productions for displays of diversity and gender equality in their work.[10] The organization worked with Ford Motor Company in 2017 to create a video series called #ShesGotDrive, which aimed to "(challenge) stereotypes in media targeted at children".[11] GDI received a Governors Award in 2022 from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its efforts to improve equal gender representation in entertainment.[12][13]

Research, advocacy, and impact

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GDI publishes annual research on the representation of various groups in media.[14] Topics have included general representation of characters in media by gender, occupational surveys of characters, and speaking roles of characters by gender.[15][16] In 2012, GDI received a US$1.2 million grant from Google.[17] Also in 2012, the organization released the Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient video and sound recognition software with algorithms which identify the gender and screentime of characters in media.[3] While examining films released in 2014 and 2015, the software found male characters were present on screen approximately twice as often as female characters.[4] By 2019, the software discovered that gender representation in children's television was approximately equal, with female roles slightly exceeding male roles.[3]

GDI launched the Global Symposium on Gender in Media internationally in 2015 at the BFI London Film Festival.[18] In 2017, 21st Century Fox commissioned GDI to research The Scully Effect. The organization discovered that 63 percent of women in STEM fields attributed their career to The X-Files character Dana Scully.[19][3] In 2018, GDI and the Lyda Hill Foundation conducted a study on representation of women in STEM careers in media finding that the representation of men in STEM fields was approximately double that of women, and that the imbalance in representation is perhaps discouraging girls from pursuing STEM careers.[20][21][22]

GDI and the University of Southern California's Signal Analysis and Interpretation Laboratory partnered to create Spellcheck for Bias, artificial intelligence software that analyzes screenplays for "stereotypes and other problematic choices", including gender, race, disability status, and sexual orientation.[16][23] Disney began using the software in 2019 to examine gender representation in its productions and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group began using it in 2020 to identify representation of Latinx characters in its productions.[23]

After seeing the results of a survey conducted by GDI and commissioned by The Lego Group (TLG), TLG announced in 2021 changes to its toy lineup to remove gender stereotypes.[24] GDI, Rose Pictures, and Besties Make Movies partnered to create the documentary Nothing Fits, announced in 2023. The film analyzes the intersection of media, the fashion industry, and body image.[25] , In 2023, it was announced that GDI would co-produce a Canadian adaptation of the documentary This Changes Everything.[26]

In 2025 and 2026, GDI ambassador Harry Cook sparked public controversy in Australia over his comments about Judaism, Israel and the Gaza war, including his claims that the September 11 and Bondi Beach terrorist attacks were "false-flag" attacks organized by Israel, and his calls to boycott Jewish-owned businesses in Sydney.[27][28] In May 2026, GDI publicly distanced itself from Cook's comments and removed his profile from its website. A GDI spokesperson said that Cook's association with GDI had been "fabricated",[29] although pages archived by the Wayback Machine showed Cook listed as a GDI team member on the Institute's website.[30] Cook has described himself as a "life-long friend" of Geena Davis.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Saval, Malina (August 27, 2015). "Bentonville Film Festival to Offer More Diversity in 2016, Says Geena Davis". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media". Guidestar. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Hornaday, Ann (September 19, 2019). "Geena Davis just made children's TV more feminist". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Ryzik, Melena (September 14, 2016). "How Long Is an Actress Onscreen? A New Tool Finds the Answer Faster". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ Marechal, A.J. (September 22, 2011). "Davis Institute tackles gender gaps in media". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  6. ↑ Saval, Malina (October 6, 2015). "Geena Davis Makes Women the Center of Attention With Her Institute". Variety. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Geena Davis Is On a Mission for Gender Equality in the Media". Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  8. ↑ "About Us – See Jane". Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ Colin, Chris (May 25, 2023). "How Sexist Is Hollywood? Check Out Geena Davis's Spreadsheet". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  10. ↑ Levine, Stuart (October 14, 2010). "Geena Davis Institute, TV Acad unveil kid's award". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  11. ↑ Birkner, Christine (February 14, 2017). "Geena Davis Institute and Ford Teamed Up for This Inspiring Video Series Promoting Gender Equality". AdWeek. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  12. ↑ Tinoco, Armando (August 15, 2022). "Geena Davis Institute On Gender In Media To Be Honored By Television Academy With 2022 Governors Award". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Governors Award". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  14. ↑ Hayes, Britt (February 22, 2017). "Paul Feig, Nina Jacobson and 50 More Hollywood Execs Form Campaign to End Gender Inequality". ScreenCrush. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  15. ↑ Marechal, A.J. (September 22, 2011). "Davis Institute tackles gender gaps in media". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Colin, Chris (May 25, 2023). "How Sexist Is Hollywood? Check Out Geena Davis's Spreadsheet". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  17. ↑ Watercutter, Angela (December 6, 2012). "Google Grants $1.2M to Help Analyze Female Roles in TV, Film". Wired. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  18. ↑ Day, Elizabeth (September 27, 2015). "Geena Davis: 'After Thelma & Louise, people said things would improve for women in film. They didn't'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  19. ↑ Ifeanyi, K.C. (April 16, 2018). "Women Who Watched "The X-Files" Pursued More Careers In STEM". Fast Company. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  20. ↑ Marotti, Ally (September 27, 2018). "Men outnumber women nearly 2-to-1 in STEM roles on TV and in movies. That may discourage girls from tech careers". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  21. ↑ Mullen, Caitlin (October 3, 2018). "Too few women in on-screen STEM roles". The Business Journals. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Portray Her: Representations of Women STEM Characters in Media". Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Sun, Rebecca (February 19, 2020). "Universal Teams With Geena Davis Institute, USC for Software to Increase Latinx Representation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  24. ↑ Cheng, Amy (October 12, 2021). "Lego pledges to make toys more gender-neutral and eliminate stereotypes after global survey". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  25. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (August 3, 2023). "Geena Davis Institute to Tackle Jennifer Holness Doc on 'Harmful' Beauty Standards in Hollywood and Fashion". Variety. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  26. ↑ Ravindran, Manori (June 12, 2023). "#MeToo Documentary 'This Changes Everything' Gets Canadian Adaptation From Geena Davis, CreativeChaos (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  27. ↑ Lange, David (March 22, 2026). "Antisemitic Z-Lister Harry Cook Pushes "False Flag" Bondi Massacre Claim". Radical Truth Telling. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  28. ↑ Lange, David (March 11, 2026). "Haters Targeting Israeli-Linked Businesses in Australia". Radical Truth Telling. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  29. ↑ Lange, David (May 19, 2026). "Geena Davis Institute Scrubs Harry Cook From Website After Backlash". Radical Truth Telling. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Harry Cook". Geena Davis Institute. Archived from the original on January 22, 2026. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Best Selfie: Aussie actor Harry Cook on his 'life-long' friendship with co-star Geena Davis and how his life changed after his coming-out went viral". Nine.com.au. October 29, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
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