When Hollywood accurately depicts work-family and gender-equity scenarios on screen, it’s good for business by driving up viewership and engagement, according to a new research study.
The vast majority of engaged streaming viewers in the U.S. want to see their lives — working, managing family life and providing care — represented on screen more often and with more nuance and aspiration, according to a survey commissioned by progressive think tank New America. The study found that this especially true among Gen Z and millennial audiences, parents of kids under 18, and people caring both for a child and an older loved one.
A key finding: 84% of U.S. adult viewers are interested in seeing more depictions of work-life balance, gender equity and family caregiving — including 50% who are “intensely interested” in seeing more depictions, per the survey conducted by media audience research firm MarketCast.
TV series featuring work-family content drive audience engagement more than other shows on social media, according to MarketCast’s analysis of conversations on X (formerly Twitter). Per the study, 63% of a sample of 32 TV series that included themes of work, family, parenting and caregiving generated above-average online engagement among viewers, who expressed intent to share and recommending shows to others.
Shows that survey respondents cited as doing a good job of accurately depicting work, family, and caregiving issues included Quinta Brunson’s “Abbott Elementary,” Shonda Rhimes’ “Grey’s Anatomy” (returning for Season 20 on March 14), ABC sitcom “The Conners” and Netflix drama “Virgin River.” Others included FX’s “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” created by Taffy Brodesser-Akner based on her 2019 novel; Netflix limited series drama “Maid,” created by Molly Smith Metzler; and Issa Rae’s HBO dramedy “Insecure.”
Vicki Shabo, New America’s senior fellow for gender equity, paid leave and care policy and strategy, is the founder of the organization’s Better Life Lab project. She believes the MarketCast data will help encourage media companies and creatives see the upside of including more (and more authentic) and aspirational representations of work, family and care challenges experienced by Americans.
“We believe that this research will be a catalyst for policy and culture changes in the U.S. — to help drive greater access to paid family and medical leave, affordable and available child and elder care, and pay equity for women, BIPOC communities, LGBTQ folks and people with disabilities,” Shabo said. Part of what’s stymying such lobbying efforts, she said, are “these narratives in the culture about pulling yourselves up by your bootstraps and managing these life challenges through individual initiative. But we know that doesn’t accurately reflect the reality that we need policies that support families navigating work, child care and elder care, which disproportionately affects women, who perform the bulk of caregiving and earn lower wages on average.”
The study included a survey of 1,720 U.S. streaming viewers ages 18-59 conducted by MarketCast in December 2023. Respondents said they watch at least five hours of TV and/or movies per week. The report is available at this link: newamerica.org/rescriptingaudiencestudy.
about 42% of viewers surveyed say they see issues around work, family, and care depicted in TV and film well, while only half say they see these stories often. Of those surveyed, 55% have personal or household experiences with managing work, family, and care and 43% expect to within the next five years.
Roughly six out of 10 viewers surveyed said they would like to see more portrayals of specific situations and aspirational content, including:
- Women succeeding at work while also being loving parents at home
- Men providing hands-on care to loved ones and children while also succeeding at work
- Characters speaking proudly about being caregivers rather than apologizing
- Characters and stories finding and using resources like paid leave, child care and elder or disability care
- Supportive bosses and coworkers in workplace settings
- Storylines or characters focused on policies to help support parents and caregivers, like paid leave, child, and elder or disability care
The margin of error in MarketCast’s survey is +/- 2.5 percentage points. The data was weighted to reflect the U.S. population of adults 18-59 to obtain representative demographic characteristics of the market.
Pictured above: “Abbott Elementary”
