Male actors occupy 75% of screen time in finance-related films and shows – study

Around three quarters of screen time in finance-related films and TV shows is typically occupied by male actors, a study indicates.

A range of films and series about finance and investing from the past 15 years were analysed, such as The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short, Margin Call and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

The research, commissioned by trading and investing platform eToro, consisted of visual and text analysis, focusing on the main male and female characters depicted as financial experts.

Among the films and shows analysed, researchers found that, on average across all the productions analysed, 75% of screen time was occupied by male financial experts, who made up 64% of the experts portrayed.

The research indicated that male experts often tended to portrayed as more knowledgeable, confident and significantly more comfortable with risk than female experts.

Female characters often conveyed their authority or confidence by “power dressing” in suits and heels, researchers noted.

While men dominated the “alpha” roles as experts, women were seen playing “supportive” characters such as wives or admin assistants, or were portraying strippers or mistresses.

Dr Ylva Baeckstrom, a senior lecturer in finance at King’s Business School, who led the research, suggested that portrayals of finance and investing as a pursuit for “alpha males” and a lack of female financial role models are both “perpetuating the gender investment gap”.

She said: “We all know that women earn less, invest less, yet live longer than men and therefore have an even greater need to build wealth to secure their futures.”

Dr Baeckstrom also said some improvement had been observed for productions in recent years, with films such as Fair Play, starring Phoebe Dynevor, and episodes of the TV show Billions, “introducing stronger women in roles that highlight their capabilities, struggles and complexity”.

Lale Akoner, global markets analyst at eToro said: “There is a need for female role models both on and off-screen to encourage us all to talk more about money and to inspire the next generation of female investors.”

eToro has partnered with research business Boring Money to launch a campaign called Loud Investing to encourage discussions about finance.