Nielsen Study Finds Women Dominate AANHPI Representation in Hollywood

This past year has seen a rise in recognition of AANHPI women in Hollywood. Michelle Yeoh has just swept acting awards across major ceremonies and made history as the first Asian woman to win for best actress at the Oscars and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her outstanding performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

And it seems that Hollywood has noticed the vital role AANHPI women play on and off the screen. A recent study by Nielsen revealed that women drive on-screen representation for the AANHPI community and make up most of its viewing audience across all media. The study, which is part of Nielsen’s ongoing commitment to diversity and was conducted in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, found that AANHPI women are leading in share of screen (SoS) and share of cast (SoC) measurements across broadcast, cable and SVOD (streaming). (SoS measures the time an identity group is shown on screen, and SoC measures the percentage an identity group is reflected in the cast [top ten leading roles]). 

According to the study, the women surpassed their male counterparts in the SoS measurement in the top five broadcast TV shows being watched in the U.S.: Chicago Med, FBI, NCIS, The Equalizer, and Yellowstone.

In streaming, AANHPI women were represented at an even greater scale, with their SoS at 9.5%, well above the 6.5% of the overall AANHPI U.S. population. The most representative shows for AANHPI women last year were on Netflix and Disney+, the latter of which included children’s shows such as Mira, Royal Detective, and Turning Red. The study also highlighted the prominence in the representation (SoC) of South Asian women on streaming versus broadcast and cable with shows like The Sex Lives of College Girls starring Amrit Kaur on HBO Max and Eternally Confused and Eager for Love featuring Dalai on Netflix.

A reason for the greater levels of representation on streaming is that the medium itself can accommodate more films and shows, which opens the door for more representative stories to make their way into American homes, according to Patricia Ratulangi, vice president of global communications, DE&I, at Nielsen.

Ratulangi also spoke to Hollywood First Look about the important role AANHPI women play behind the screen and how that helps direct and shape the narrative, which comes from directors, producers, and showrunners. 

“How we (people) identify and think of ourselves is supercritical and really defines who we are and what we can be…and what we’re being shown when we watch ourselves on screen is huge – I think it makes a big difference in terms of how you can think about where you are going forward,” she said.

In the last few years, AANHPI women were at the helm of some of the most popular and successful films and series, among them Chloé Zhao, who directed Marvel Studios’ Eternals, Domee Shi, who directed Disney+’s Turning Red, and Mindy Kaling, who co-created Netflix’s Never Have I Ever.

If there is something to take away from this study and this memorable award season is that “when you put an Asian woman on as well as behind the camera, they win, and they draw those audiences,” Ratulangi concluded.