Hey Barbie! There's a lot of Kens on my screen: A qualitative analysis of female gender inequality in media representation and how society’s responses to it have evolved

In 2023, Greta Gerwig became the first female director to solo-direct a film that made $1 billion. While her success with Barbie marks progress for women in media, the industry remains male dominated, with women largely underrepresented both behind the camera and on screen. This thesis analyzes the content of several documentaries, spanning 1979 to 2018, to see how the media industry, and societal perspectives, have evolved when it comes to female representation.