Study suggests female stars 'dramatically under-represented' in films

A new study has found that female characters were "dramatically under-represented" in the biggest films of 2013.

According to the US study, women made up just 15 percent of lead characters, 29 percent of major characters and 30 percent of all speaking characters in the films, the BBC reported.

The research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film in San Diego also revealed that only 13 percent of the top 100 movies had equal numbers of major female and male characters

The report, which analyzed the presentation of about 7,000 characters in 300 films, has shown that female characters were less likely than males to have clearly identifiable goals or be portrayed as leaders of any kind.

Researchers added that female characters were younger than their male counterparts and were more likely to have a specific marital status.